Waste gasification : Bee'ah and Chinook Sciences expand their waste gasification project
The project is an expansion of Bee'ah and Chinook Sciences' waste gasification project that had been announced in 2014, leveraging similar pyrolysis and gasification technologies to produce green hydrogen instead of electricity. This waste-to-hydrogen project addresses increasing market demand in the region for new sources of renewable energy such as green hydrogen.
With an approach of having the waste-to-hydrogen plant adjacent to the fuelling station, this project removes the challenges of costly transportation of hydrogen. The fuelling station will use green hydrogen generated from the waste-to-hydrogen plant from non-recyclable plastic waste and waste wood from Bee'ah's Material Recovery Facility. The green hydrogen will be fed into the fuelling station to power Bee'ah's future fleet of hydrogen waste collection vehicles, effectively closing the waste loop.
In addition, the cost of green hydrogen from the plant is competitive with or even less than the equivalent cost of diesel and gasoline. At maximum production capacity, the plant is capable of fuelling 1,000 hydrogen-powered large vehicles per day.
The first phase scheduled for completion end in 2022. As part of Bee'ah and Chinook Sciences' partnership, both entities will also establish more waste-to-hydrogen facilities across the region.
Bee'ah is also establishing other renewable energy projects in the UAE through its joint venture with Masdar, Emirates Waste to Energy Company. This includes the UAE's first 30-MW waste-to-energy facility in Sharjah, set for completion this year, and a 120-MW solar landfill project with its first phase due to complete by 2023. Bee'ah has also built an on-site solar farm at its new Headquarters, which is a net-zero energy building.
As a industrial, renewable fuel and environmental technology company, Chinook Sciences' patented RODECS gasification and pyrolysis technology will break down hydrocarbons from waste through advanced thermal treatment, to release and recover the hydrogen. The hydrogen released and recovered from waste wood will be categorised as green hydrogen, the hydrogen from non-recyclable plastic waste will support waste diversion from landfills. When the green hydrogen fuel is used in vehicles, it emits only water and no carbon emissions.
Given that hydrogen-powered vehicles are more sustainable and have better mileage, Bee'ah is also currently in discussions with auto-manufacturers in the region to purchase hydrogen vehicles. The hydrogen infrastructure being built can also provide hydrogen for use in public transportation, powering hydrogen fuel cell buses.
The UAE has previously announced its aim to become a major hydrogen producer, and to reduce carbon emissions by 24 per cent by 2030. Plans include investment in green hydrogen, which is produced using renewable energy, like solar power as well as using carbon-capture technologies to create what is known as blue hydrogen.