Waste-to-energy operator Encyclis has initiated hot commissioning at its Protos Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) in Cheshire, United Kingdom, following the successful completion of its first fire on waste. The facility took initial deliveries of over 2,500 tons of residual waste to ignite its boilers under live operational conditions. Constructed alongside engineering partners METLEN and Standardkessel Baumgarte GmbH, the plant will process up to 500,000 tons of non-recyclable municipal and commercial waste annually once fully operational.

Regional waste management faces severe pressures from limited landfill capacity alongside high carbon intensity from conventional disposal and power generation methods. Non-recyclable municipal and commercial refuse routinely ends up in landfills, generating methane and missing opportunities for resource recovery. Additionally, generating baseload electricity often relies on fossil-fuel infrastructure, hindering broader industrial decarbonization targets across the United Kingdom.

To address these issues, Encyclis engineered the Protos ERF to convert residual waste streams into electricity while simultaneously building dedicated carbon capture infrastructure on an adjacent plot. The facility will generate up to 49.9 MW of baseload power and recover secondary aggregates and metals for circular economy applications. Furthermore, a dedicated carbon capture plant scheduled for 2029 will intercept emissions directly from the flue gas stream and transport them via pipeline for permanent offshore geological storage in Liverpool Bay through the regional HyNet North West cluster.

The operational phase at Protos ERF establishes the foundation for the United Kingdom’s first fully decarbonized Energy-from-Waste infrastructure. The facility has created more than 45 permanent skilled positions and four local apprenticeships, with workforce expansion planned as operational capacity scales. Upon full integration of the carbon capture unit in 2029, the facility will capture approximately 370,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually, significantly mitigating regional greenhouse gas outputs while supplying reliable energy and recovered raw materials.