Dawson provides home for alternative fuel

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT

RENEWABLES • AN INNOVATIVE PELLETISATION PROJECT IN THE UK AIMS TO REDUCE LANDFILL AND AIR EMISSIONS, WHILE LEANING ON THE LOGISTICS EXPERTISE OF AV DAWSON

UK-BASED WASTE Knot Energy has received funding from Gresham House, an alternative asset management group, to build its first fuel pelleting plant. Waste Knot has chosen a brownfield site, owned by logistics specialist AV Dawson, in Middlesbrough as the location for this new alternative fuel project that will help reduce landfill and carbon emissions. The plant will produce Waste Knot’s Green Knot branded pellets, which have a high calorific value and offer a reliable, lowemission bulk alternative to coal and pet-coke for energy-intensive industries.

AV Dawson’s Middlesbrough facility was selected as the site for the first plant due to its quayside location on the south side of the River Tees, providing a strategic entrance point to serve the UK and beyond. With construction now underway at the site, this marks an important step for the UK in developing infrastructure to process its own waste and providing an alternative to landfill. Once completed, the facility will be able to produce more than 240,000 tonnes of fuel pellets per year, which will be transported within the UK by rail or exported by ship.

“We are completely redeveloping a whole area of our Middlesbrough site to provide a tailored solution for the customer that gives them a purpose-built facility with immediate access to the quayside, enabling the efficient production and export of pellets around the world,” says Gary Dawson (below right), managing director of AV Dawson.

“This project is an exciting step forward in the expansion of our port facilities on the River Tees. It is part of our long-term plans to move into renewable and recyclable energy markets, supporting our diversification strategy and our environmental aspirations. It also supports the region’s and the UK’s wider environmental challenges to create a circular economy, diverting waste from landfill whilst supporting the move away from fossil fuels,” Dawson adds.

JOBS AND CLEAN AIR “It is fantastic to see Teesside landing the first plant for this exciting new project,” says Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen. “Whether it is Net Zero Teesside, e-scooters or pioneering the use of hydrogen across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool, we are developing the technologies of the future and creating sustainable good quality, well paid local jobs for local workers. This amazing news further supports our ambitions to drive forward the clean energy agenda, further cementing our region’s reputation as an innovator and world leader in decarbonisation.”

Ed Simpson, investment director, new energy at Gresham House, says: “The benefits to the UK from the Waste Knot Energy project are myriad – from providing a waste disposal alternative to reducing carbon emission from the industrial sector and stimulating regional economic activity. Having just completed its final funding round, this is exactly the type of strategically important sustainable project [Gresham House’s British Strategic Investment Fund (BSIF)] is looking to facilitate, while generating attractive returns for investors.”

Waste Knot Energy is a waste trading company with extensive experience and network in the waste and cement industries. It specialises in processing waste into high volume alternatives to fossil fuels. Waste Knot will use solid recovered fuel (SRF) as a raw material, sourced from regional suppliers.

AV Dawson is a third generation, familyowned company with strong roots in Teesside, having been founded in Middlesbrough more than 80 years ago. Its 40-ha site has raillinked warehousing and quayside facilities, as well as extensive plant equipment and a supporting road transport fleet. www.av-dawson.com www.wasteknotenergy.com