Claudia Weeks, Community Content Lead for Fuel Oil News, spoke with the company’s Chairman, Matthew Stone, to learn more about the development of the business and Renovare’s plans for the future.
An innovative technology
“Renovare Fuels has designed and manufactured, and is now marketing, a new innovative technology for converting biogas, produced from landfill waste using anaerobic digesters, into liquid biofuel,” Matthew began, explaining the technology behind the business.
“Our patented technology, developed with NASA and the US Department of Energy, converts biogas created by organic waste from landfill and anaerobic digestors into an advanced liquid biofuel.
“This process utilises novel disruptive technologies (TRIFTS) to revolutionise waste into an advanced renewable biofuel to decrease the UK’s reliance on foreign oil imports and other fossil fuels.
“Our sustainable biofuel acts a direct ‘drop in’ replacement for diesel, petrol and aviation fuel, with no requirement for engine modifications, and can cut greenhouse gas emissions by up to 97 percent.”
The biogas market
“Renovare Fuels’ innovative technology is unique in being able to capture natural biogases and convert these into sustainable advanced liquid biofuels,” Matthew continued.
“This is a rapidly increasing industry, but, with increasing UK Government support through their Renewable Transport Fuel Certificate (RTFC) scheme and the Government’s future intention to introduce legislation to mandate food waste collection, there is an extremely encouraging future for our unique technology as a whole.”
Creating a sustainable future
Matthew reflected on the exciting developments for the business last year: “2023 was a landmark year for Renovare Fuels, with the launch of our first European site in Craigmore, Northern Ireland.
“Our £9 million biofuel plant in Country Derry is set to open later this year, and will see nearly two million litres of our advanced renewable biofuels produced each year. The site will be the largest development fuel production site anywhere in the UK.
“This crucial investment will play a leading role in creating a sustainable future for the transport sector, setting a global standard for environmental and financial performance.
“Looking ahead to the future, Renovare Fuels will continue to develop our pipeline of projects throughout the UK and Europe, with a firm focus on making renewable biofuels more accessible, primarily across the aviation industry.
“Renovare Fuels recently launched an equity raise of approximately six million pounds. We launched this investment to unlock a pipeline of cutting-edge technology to drive sustainable fuel projects throughout the country and across the continent, which could be worth up to £500 million. Following the announcement of this equity raise, we have been attracting lots of interest from institutional investment.”
The mission
Matthew was clear on the mission of the business: “Our mission is to support the practical transition to net zero and broader climate ambitions, across the UK and beyond and especially to help the transport sector rapidly reduce emissions.
“Renovare Fuels aims to create a more sustainable future through providing greener alternatives to petrol, diesel, and jet fuel. The aviation industry faces some of the largest barriers to lowering emissions and this is a key focus of our innovative technology.”
A sustainable solution
Explaining how Renovare aims to combine a sustainable solution with the energy demands and excessive waste of modern-day culture, Matthew said: “Renovare Fuels’ innovative technology does this by harnessing organic waste and converting it into an advanced renewable biofuel.
“By supplying fuel distributors and multinational petrochemical and airline companies with our greener fuel alternatives, we are helping to meet our global net zero ambitions, through rapidly lowering greenhouse gas emissions by up to 97 per cent. This is especially important as, last year, one-quarter of all emissions across the UK originated from the transport sector.1
“UK Government estimates suggest some 32 million tonnes of biodegradable waste is generated annually – enough to produce more than two billion litres of biofuels annually.2 Biofuels can support industries facing the largest barriers to net zero, including the aviation, road haulage and maritime sectors. Our innovative methods also harness everyday organic waste, providing a clear dual benefit to the environment and a truly circular solution.”
A landmark biofuels site
“Our landmark biofuels production site is a first for the UK and European market. Based at the Craigmore landfill site, near Coleraine, County Derry, the site will see close to two million litres of advanced renewable biofuels produced each year, made from the biogas produced by landfill waste.
“The £9 million investment is being developed alongside leading Northern Ireland renewable energy operator and biogas specialists, B9 Energy Control Limited, and leading UK anaerobic digestion operators, Powerhouse Management Ltd. The Craigmore landfill site, which first opened in 1993, is operated by RiverRidge, one of Northern Ireland’s leading waste operators.
“The state-of-the-art facility is set to be the largest development fuel production site in the UK, displacing 94 percent of greenhouse gas emissions compared to normal equivalent fuels. Additionally, the site will create dozens of local jobs during construction, as well as several long-term skilled engineering positions.
“This project is set to boost Northern Ireland’s role in the transport sector’s transition to net zero and will pave the way for further sites across Europe.
“The site’s functionality is quite impressive. It has the capacity to accept up to 200 thousand tonnes annually of non-hazardous and inert waste. It’s worth noting that since 2015, the site has developed the capability to capture biogas from the waste in a commercially viable manner.
“With the company’s modular operations, Renovare Fuel’s technology can be installed quickly and does not require any form of grid connection. This paves the way for landfill operators around the UK and across Europe to embrace this new technology and tap into the potential of trapped landfill gas.”
Government policy and legislation
Claudia asked Matthew about his thoughts on Government policy: “We think that the Government’s efforts – and indeed the wider policy consensus in Parliament – to achieve a timely, yet sustainable transition to net zero, while ensuring we can strengthen the UK’s energy security by producing the fuel we need for the future at home is a sensible approach.
“We are pleased that Renovare Fuels’ advanced renewable biofuel qualifies for extra support under the Department for Transport’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). This long-standing legislation provides strong support to innovators, like Renovare Fuels, who are leading the way to support the practical transition to net zero in the transport sector.3
“Developments in RTFO legislation in 2018 mean major UK fuel suppliers are now obligated to increase their supply of sustainable biofuel from 4.99 vol% in 2018; to 10.64 vol% in 2020; and 10.96 vol% by 2032. Renewable aviation fuels also qualify under the legislation.
“Furthermore, the food waste market is likely to expand rapidly in the coming years, given the expectation of separate food waste collections to become mandated for local authorities. This will strengthen Renovare Fuels’ future position with the likelihood of rapidly increased biogas capability at food waste plants in England.
“There are 79 food waste plants in England, and a further 16 others elsewhere in the UK, with our technology presenting an attractive option for anaerobic digestion operators.”
Will there be sufficient supply to meet the growing demand?
“Our projections suggest the County Derry site alone will be capable of producing some 1,000 metres cubed of biogas an hour, which can then be converted into approximately 1.8 million litres of advanced renewable biofuels annually. These ambitious production capabilities can only be achieved by a steady stream of organic matter being made available on site, with Craigmore having the capacity to accept up to 200,000 tonnes of non-hazardous and inert waste each year.
“Our technology is rapidly scalable, with the company’s modular technology set to put us in good stead to increase our operations at landfill sites across the UK, Europe and beyond, with plans for seven more sites to be operational by 2030.”
“The Northern Ireland site is a real first test for the European advanced renewable biofuels market, following our previous success in the United States, alongside the US Department of Energy and NASA.
“Renovare Fuels will manage the capture and filling of all new intellectual property, which may be developed over the course of the Northern Ireland project. With such innovative processes underway, it is likely that new intellectual property will be developed in relation to contaminant removal and catalyst optimisation, potentially boosting the efficiency of production methods into the future.”
The future for Renovare
Clearly motivated and excited for the future of the business, Matthew explained their objectives: “Renovare Fuels’ ambitious five-year plan hopes to be operating a further 48 projects, generating up to 35 million litres of biodiesel annually. By 2030, the company aims to have seven landfill and anaerobic digester sites across the UK and Europe to help meet international net zero targets.
“Our rapidly scalable technology, due to the modular nature of our operations, mean this ambition is realistic, provided the necessary planning applications are granted.
“Within the next decade, Renovare Fuels will be on a good stead to be generating tens of millions of litres of biodiesel across Europe and beyond, achieved by close working with anaerobic digestion experts and leaders in waste management.”
While we were speaking with Renovare, reports surfaced suggesting that Fulcrum Bioenergy, a company seen as a pioneer in the effort to turn waste into sustainable jet fuel, is on the brink of collapse. Responding to these reports, Matthew Stone, Chairman of Renovare Fuels said: “The reported collapse of Fulcrum Bioenergy is concerning and demonstrates the continued challenges facing the sector and the need to balance financial investment with the speed of infrastructure development.
“If the UK is to meet its environmental targets, there needs to be a continued and accelerated commitment to this agenda. We are pleased that we are seeing strong interest from investors and industry partners, and we are confident that our highly-scalable technology creates a robust plan for growth and is set to supercharge the aviation sector’s transition to net zero.”
Matthew and the team at Renovare Fuels have a clear strategy for establishing the pathway towards a greener future and we will be following their journey with interest.
- https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/transport-and-environment-statistics-2022/transport-and-environment-statistics-2022
- https://adbioresources.org/industry-directory/renovare-fuels-limited/
- https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/61c1ef77d3bf7f1f749d7545/renewable-transport-fuel-obligation-compliance-guidance.pdf
Image supplied by Renovare Fuels
