A new partnership could see 10 new ecoPlants built across the UK at a cost of over £400m.
The partnership is between Clean Planet Energy and private equity firm Crossroads Real Estate. The latter has already announced funding for Clean Planet Energy’s flagship UK ecoPlant, which is under construction in Teeside.
However, the pair are hoping to seek permission to build a further 9 plants around the UK. These plants are designed to take plastic waste that would otherwise end in a landfill and put it to good use.
In a statement detailing the partnership, the ecoPlants’ functions were discussed.
It read: “Clean Planet’s ecoPlants are green, advanced recycling facility intended to process non-recyclable and hard-to-recycle waste plastics that would otherwise be sent to landfill.
“Each ecoPlant is designed to accept 20,000 tonnes of plastics each year and to convert this waste into (a) ultra-low sulphur fuels to replace fossil fuels in the transport and heavy-machinery sectors, and (b) petrochemical feedstocks, including naphtha, which can be used to make new plastic products without the need to use fossil-based feedstocks”.
Bertie Stephens, Group CEO of Clean Planet Energy, expressed his delight at the partnership and shared his enthusiasm for the future.
He said: “Clean Planet Energy’s mission is to remove over 1 million tonnes of non-recyclable plastic waste from our environment, every year. This exciting partnership gives us the capacity to make a significant dent in this target. Having Crossroads Real Estate join us, not just for the development of potentially 10 new UK ecoPlant projects, but also for the construction of the current Teesside ecoPlant, means in Crossroads we have a partner who, like us, is focussed on making a sustainable difference with its investments; delivering on a vision of a greener United Kingdom and beyond”.
Potential sites for the ecoPlants include Lincolnshire, Gloucestershire, Lancashire and South Wales.