Turning waste into watts: E.ON and Imerys team up for a greener future
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure — and we’re using energy recovery and hydrogen to turn industrial waste into enough electricity to power thousands of homes.
Imagine turning something that would usually go up in smoke into enough electricity to power thousands of homes — extracting every bit of potential energy from what would have otherwise been lost.
That’s exactly what we’re doing in Willebroek, Belgium, as part of a new partnership with Imerys, the world leader in carbon black production, a key component for lithium-ion batteries. And here’s where it gets exciting - not only is this innovative project cutting emissions, it’s also helping create a more sustainable future for the region.
At the heart of this initiative is a clever bit of technology known as energy recovery. In a nutshell, it’s all about capturing energy from processes that would typically release it into the atmosphere, and finding a way of repurposing it.
In Willebroek, the production of syngas (a mix of hydrogen and carbon monoxide) at Imerys’s site produces huge amounts of heat. Instead of wasting that valuable heat energy, our new energy recovery plant (plans pictured below!) will harness it to generate electricity – enough to power 40,000 homes!
How does it work?
Syngas is produced during the carbon black manufacturing process (think of it as the ‘waste product’ with hidden potential). The new facility will capture the syngas and, from there, it’s all about steam. The captured syngas can be used to heat water in a high-pressure boiler, producing steam which spins a turbine, generating electricity.
And since this steam is expanded and cooled down using air-cooled condensers, the efficiency of the plant continues to rise. The lower the pressure in the condenser, the more power we generate – a win-win for efficiency and sustainability.
What about hydrogen?
Hydrogen is a key player in this whole process. Syngas contains a high concentration of hydrogen, which is one of the most talked-about clean fuels in the world right now. It’s helping to cut emissions from industrial sites like this one, offering a cleaner alternative to traditional power sources.
In the future, we’ll explore how to tap into the remaining heat from the plant to create district heating systems, using that hydrogen-rich syngas to keep local homes and businesses warm.
Why does this matter for the UK?
The Willebroek project is a brilliant example of how we can recover energy in innovative ways, turning industrial waste into useful energy and slashing emissions along the way.
With the UK also striving to become a leader in clean energy and with hydrogen one potential element of decarbonisation plans, this is just one of many steps we could take to contribute to a greener, cleaner energy future.