Mersey Biochar represents an important step forward in the UK’s carbon-capture ambitions and getting planning permission for the Lingley Mere site is an exciting start. We hope to prove this technology can be used across the UK to help tackle climate change
Mersey Biochar will capture carbon from green waste or ‘biomass’, in this case a byproduct of local forestry management, which would otherwise release its carbon back into the atmosphere as it decays. The carbon is locked in through a process called pyrolysis, which heats the biomass in a virtually oxygen-free environment without the noise or fumes commonly associated with other types of burning. The resulting biochar stores the carbon for centuries and every tonne produced can remove up to 3.6 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere. The facility is expected to produce 700 tonnes of biochar each year.
Research into the viability of the process was funded by the UK government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero which then made a further £5m available to scale-up the concept as part of the Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage Scheme.
Planning permission was secured by integrated planning, design, environment, engineering and safety consultancy Mabbett & Associates Ltd, with no objections to the proposals.
The approval of planning permission for the Warrington site is just the start of this exciting project. The vision for the site is that nothing will go to waste; once the facility’s carbon-capture capabilities are proven, the heat generated by the process is intended to be redirected to heat and power United Utilities’ buildings – part of the company’s long-term sustainability goals.
As United Utilities’ Bioresources and Green Energy Director, Tom Lissett, explains:
‘We are excited to host this innovative technology which opens up the opportunity to decarbonise our office heating requirements at Lingley Mere by capturing and using the heat which is created during the pyrolysis process. It is an important step forward for us in our journey to decarbonising our head office in Warrington.’
Mersey Biochar is funded by the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero through their Direct Air Capture and Greenhouse Gas Removal innovation programme, established to find new and inventive ways of reducing UK carbon emissions.