Arkad S.p.A. has signed a contract with Circular Fuels Ltd. (CFL), a joint venture between Dimeta B.V. and KEW Technology Ltd., for the realization of an innovative rDME (renewable and recycled carbon dimethyl ether) production plant. CFL’s first commercial rDME plant is being developed in Teesworks, UK, with plans for subsequent plants to be located across Europe and North America.
The plant, for which Arkad S.p.A. will provide detailed and EPC works expertise, will have a production capacity of 50 kilotonnes of rDME per year, produced from non-recyclable municipal and commercial and industrial (C&I) wastes. rDME is a safe, clean-burning, and sustainable fuel. Chemically similar to propane and butane, rDME produced in the plant will have an average Greenhouse Gase (GHG) saving of at least 65% at the start-up of the plant, which will decrease over time as the electricity grid will decarbonise, and could become negative-carbon when the planned Carbon Capture & Sequestration (CCS) is realised in Teesside. Thanks to an innovative modular and advanced pressurised gasification, a design solution of KEW’s Advanced Conversion Technology (ACT), the joint venture CFL will then replicate the rDME plant in other locations becoming a sustainable solution for the global LPG industry. Detailed Engineering Design started in March 2022, and activities are under execution with the purpose to enable EPC works kick-off by Q4 2022.
Notably, the 50 kilotonnes per year plant – equivalent to 150 tonnes per day – will follow the rDME demonstration plant with a capacity of 5 tonnes per day, which is under development as an “add-on” at KEW’s existing operational ACT plant, currently producing waste-to-syngas, in the UK. This will prove the feasibility of converting biomass and non-recyclable feedstocks into rDME and it is expected to produce first waste-to-rDME molecules at the end of 2022. Scaling up from 5 tonnes to 150 tonnes per day is a de-risked scale-up pathway thanks to KEW’s modular design solution. The rDME will be wholesaled by Dimeta to the UK LPG Industry, who have set an ambitious target to be 100% renewable by 2040. The rDME available will accelerate the decarbonisation of off-grid energy.
“We are thrilled to be selected by Circular Fuels Ltd and to invest our technical expertise in the realization of this project, which will consistently meet European policies and regulations in terms of reducing CO2 emissions” says Andrea Brunetti, Arkad S.p.A. CEO, “This project represents the Company’s desire to increase lower carbon offerings and to diversify its offering portfolio through prestigious partnerships and collaborations in the renewables energies and circular economy sectors. In these last few years, we have boosted our path towards a more sustainable society to meet the energy transition market requests exploiting our long lasting EPC Contractor experience and a direct presence in key markets.”
Søren Jacobsen, Chairperson of the Board of Circular Fuels Limited and CEO of Dimeta B.V., says: “This marks a major milestone in the development of our first commercial rDME plant. This plant will be the first of a pipeline of supply opportunities that Circular Fuels Ltd, and Dimeta B.V. as off-taker, is developing to scale up supply of rDME for the off-grid energy sector. We look forward to working with Arkad as a trusted partner”.
