One of UK’s leading energy from waste operators, enfinium, will soon be introducing their new carbon measurement technology throughout all of their operational sites. This launch will have taken place by the end of 2024 and a huge benefit of the technology is that it will enable the measurement of carbon removal once carbon capture and storage technology is installed through its fleet within the future.

enfinium has planned that by measuring the amount of CO2 created from biogenic sources, the company will be able to robustly calculate the amount of durable carbon removals their facilities will be able to create throughout the future. It was in May when enfinium’s Net Zero Transition Plan set out a clear ambition to lead an investment of £1.7 billion, with the intention of installing CCS throughout their operational facilities. Doing this mean that 1.2 million tonnes of carbon removals would be removed every year during the process.

Radiocarbon dating, which is commonly known as carbon-14 dating, is an excellent technique that is already used in a variety of sectors and when it is applied to energy from waste facilities, it is possible to use this technique to determine the amount of biogenic or fossil-derived CO2 that has been emitted from waste feedstock.

Currently it is estimated that about 50% of the unrecyclable waste produced by society is made up of biogenic content. This includes items such as, food, plants and soiled paper or card and all of these naturally absorb CO2 from the atmosphere at the start of their life and then the CO2 is released once again when it is transformed into energy. However, when it is combined with CCS technology, it is possible to store the biogenic CO2 permanently underground and this causes the net removal of CO2 from the atmosphere.

So far, Carbon-14 removal equipment, which was supplied by ENVEA has already been tested and trialled at enfinium’s Kemsley facility and it has returned excellent, positive results. This trial began in January 2024 and due to the success, it has now been planned that enfinium will install the technology at all four of its operational sites by the end of 2024. The technology is also due to be installed at the two sites the company currently has under construction, Kelvin and Skelton Grange and this will be completed once the sites are commissioned in 2025.

Chief Operating Officer, enfinium, Jane Atkinson commented, “enfinium is transitioning into a carbon removals business and with carbon capture and storage technology deployed across our facilities, we could generate over 1.2 million tonnes of durable carbon removals every year. Robust monitoring, reporting and verification of emissions is critical to scaling the carbon removals market and building confidence from buyers, investors and policymakers. By using carbon-14 technology, we will be able to measure the amount of biogenic carbon we are capturing and storing from society’s unrecyclable waste.”