Parc Adfer chosen for Wales’ first active carbon capture pilot

A carbon capture and storage (CCS) pilot will launch at enfinium’s Parc Adfer energy-from-waste facility in Deeside in April 2025, the company has announced.

The six-month trial will be the only active carbon capture pilot in Wales and aims to demonstrate how the technology can remove CO2 from the atmosphere at scale.

The pilot is part of enfinium’s wider plan to invest around £1.7bn in CCS across its six UK facilities, with Parc Adfer being considered for up to £200m in funding through the UK Government’s Track-1 HyNet Expansion programme.

If approved, the investment could accelerate both decarbonisation and economic growth in North Wales.

The CCS unit being installed at Parc Adfer is currently operating at enfinium’s Ferrybridge-1 facility in West Yorkshire and will be relocated in April.

The technology will be deployed by Kanadevia Inova, a clean technology company.

A second pilot, using advanced metal-organic framework technology developed by British firm Nuada, will be installed at Ferrybridge to further explore carbon capture innovations.

According to the Climate Change Committee’s latest Carbon Budget report, scaling up carbon removal technologies is essential for the UK to meet its net zero targets.

Around half of the unrecyclable waste processed by energy-from-waste facilities consists of organic material such as food and paper, which has already absorbed CO2 from the atmosphere.

By capturing and storing this CO2 rather than releasing it, CCS-equipped energy-from-waste plants can actively remove carbon from the atmosphere.

Mike Maudsley, CEO of enfinium, said: “To achieve net zero, the UK needs to produce carbon removals at scale. Energy from waste will play a critical role in delivering the millions of tonnes of durable carbon removals that are necessary for the UK to achieve net zero. By supporting the development of carbon capture technologies, we are advancing innovation in the UK while building our own understanding as we progress with our plans to deploy CCS across our six UK facilities.”

David Parkin, HyNet Alliance Director, said: “HyNet is building the infrastructure that empowers industries to capture and reduce their carbon emissions across the North West and North Wales. This includes playing a key role in supporting energy-from-waste facilities, such as enfinium, to process our everyday waste with a zero carbon footprint. This pilot is an essential part of the journey to demonstrate the efficacy of carbon capture and HyNet is thrilled to support enfinium as they drive both economic growth and decarbonisation in North Wales.”

The project at Parc Adfer is expected to contribute to the UK’s broader carbon removal efforts, with the energy-from-waste sector estimated to be capable of capturing between five and eight million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2050, according to research from the Climate Change Committee and the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.