ReEnergy raises £6.5m on AIM

Waste management, sustainable energy and water treatment group ReEnergy, which converts waste into fuel for power stations, has recently raised £6.5m after joining the Alternative Investment Market.

The UK company has acquired technologies that separate hazardous substances, and mixes the rest with industrial by-products to make a solid fuel or gas.

ReEnergy hopes to take advantage of stringent new regulations over global emissions and EU landfill directives.

England and Wales produce around 28 million tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) a year, of which almost 80 per cent is currently deposited in landfill. The EU requires a phased reduction of the biodegradable element of that waste landfill to 35 per cent of 1995 levels by 2020.

In addition, the Large Combustion Plant Directive will place strict limits on SOx, NOx and particulate emissions of power stations from 2008 while the Renewables Obligation Order states that 15 per cent of electricity must be derived from renewable sources by 2016.

ReEnergy has identified a range of process plant technologies that it believes can meet these legislative demands. Esetech Europe, majority owned by ReEnergy, has licensed a US technology called Fibrecycle1 to be used in England, Wales and the rest of Europe.

The process sanitises waste (either MSW or residual) using a steam autoclave and then mechanically separates and recovers metals, plastics and aggregates for recycling. The end result is a bio-stabilised organic fibre that can be converted into value-added products, such as compost, or further processed into biomass fuel.

The group has also reached an arrangement with Pirelli Ambiente, which produces high-grade refuse derived fuel (RDF) almost entirely extracted from the dry fraction of MSW with the addition of highly calorific components. Pirelli Ambiente estimates the RDF can be used in co-firing in conventional coal-fired power stations and cement kilns, replacing fossil fuels to a level of 10 and 40 per cent respectively.

ReEnergy has also entered into an arrangement with ITI Europe to exploit its gasifier technology that produces combustible gas using densified combustible solid material, including RDF, and licensed an industrial heat recovery technology called TRU from Kirell Energy Systems.

Roger Hewitt, executive chairman of ReEnergy said: ‘The successful placing and admission to AIM is a key development for the group, as it builds a diverse but complementary business in waste management, sustainable energy and water treatment.

‘The funds raised will allow us to maximise the significant opportunities in these core markets, all of which are increasingly coming under the scrutiny of international regulation.’