The Protos Energy Recovery Facility is being developed by Covanta, Biffa and EQT to provide 400,000 tonnes of annual treatment capacity for non-recyclable waste, further enabling the UK to achieve national self-sufficiency in managing waste and compliance with landfill diversion targets. In processing non-recyclable residual waste, the Protos Energy Recovery Facility will generate up to 49 megawatts of electricity – enough to power 90,000 UK homes.
The facility will be located near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, England within the Protos energy and resource hub. Developed by Peel L&P Environmental, the site clusters together innovative technologies, connecting energy-intensive businesses with sources of low-carbon energy. The hub has the potential to support over 3,000 jobs, with over £700m invested in the local area.
Full construction commenced in December 2020.
Construction of the Protos Energy Recovery Facility will be led by a joint venture between Mytilineos S.A. and Standardkessel Baumgarte GmbH, who have an excellent track record in delivering infrastructure projects in the United Kingdom
and around the world.
The construction phase will be three years in duration and is expected to provide significant economic opportunities to the local and regional area both during construction and upon its completion.
Covanta will provide technical oversight during construction and will operate the facility when it commences operations in 2024. At that time, the facility will create 40 - 50 new, skilled, and permanent positions.
As the construction phase progresses, you will be able to find out more about supply chain and on-site employment opportunities. Please visit the Mytilineos and Standardkessel Baumgarte website here to find out more.
Looking ahead to the operational phase, details on the future recruitment requirements will be available on this website. If you have any questions about the project or future employment opportunities at the Protos Energy Recovery Facility, please use the Contact Us form below.
Latest Construction Footage
Throughout the construction phase, the Protos project team will be updating this page with bi-annual short films. These will show the viewer how the build phase is progressing.
The films will use a combination of time-lapse, real-time footage and annotations, which will be made available for interested parties and local communities to watch.
Protos Construction Progress update - January 2022 to August 2022
To ensure local communities and businesses can keep up to date on the latest news on the Protos Energy Recovery Facility, Biffa and Covanta will keep this page updated with media releases and community newsletters.
Media contact: Nick Henderson, Communications Manager (nhenderson@covanta.com / 07935 714705)
General contact: Iain Cook, Portfolio Director (icook@covanta.com / 07935 714572)
Biffa: biffa@houston.co.uk
28 September 2022
Proposal for new IBA Processing Facility at Bromborough Dock
Covanta Energy Limited is proposing the development of an IBA aggregate processing facility, associated parking provision and ancillary development.
Project Description
The plant will process incinerator bottom ash (IBA) to manufacture incinerator bottom ash aggregate (IBAA). IBAA can be re-used in construction and landscaping.
The production process involves screening and sizing of materials including the separation of ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
IBAA is manufactured by blending the IBAA with primary aggregate or recycled secondary aggregates to create a new aggregate material, which can be utilised in a variety of construction applications to the benefit of local construction/roads/concrete industries. The recycling and use of secondary aggregates will prevent further primary aggregates being utilized; and reduces landfill and the need to quarry new materials.
The promotion of recycling and recovery is a key driver to the circular economy and central to Covanta Energy’s working priorities within the waste management hierarchy.
For more information on the IBA aggregate process, please visit: https://www.rocksolidrecycling.co.uk/site/download/Y9dGioYDNfb4
Site Location
The site is located at Bromborough Dock (South) Landfill Site, Dock Road South, Bromborough, CH62 4SU. Bound by the Dibbinsdale Brook to the west and Mersey Wharf to the east, it covers an area of approximately 3.96 hectares.
The site is the preferred location due to its suitability and proximity to the new energy recovery facility currently under construction at Protos, located near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire and easy access to the wharf to enable the importation of IBA by boat.
Site Access
The site will be primarily accessed from the public highway (Dock Road South) by a vehicular gate on the southernly most point of the site, connecting to the wider road network via New Chester Road (A41).
Construction phases
Subject to statutory planning approval, construction is intended to start in 2023 for an approximate duration of 12 months.
The construction works are anticipated to be confined to standard working hours between 7am – 7pm.
Weekends will be avoided, but, if necessary, then hours will be contained to 7am – 12 noon Saturdays, with no Sunday working.
All construction works will be undertaken within the extent of the site boundary.
Construction traffic
Construction traffic access will be via the current site access which is via Dock Road South.
>Exact levels of levels of construction traffic required are not known at this stage and will be confirmed prior to submission of any application for planning permission.
Car sharing, alternative transport modes and similar measures to reduce level of construction traffic will be encouraged as part of a construction transport management plan (CTMP) for the proposed development.
All routes to the site entrance will be agreed with Wirral Council, as the relevant highways authority, prior to the submission of the application for planning permission.
Waste and materials
To meet duty of care obligations, the CL:AIRE Code of Practice will be used throughout all stages of the scheme. This dictates that waste must be taken to recycling/disposal facilities and that these facilities must have the appropriate permits to ensure environmental risks are reduced.
Site compound
A temporary site compound will be required and will be located within the red line boundary of the site. Several temporary facilities could be required within the site during the construction phase. This will include:
Landscaping
The proposed development will be designed to minimise any potentially significant landscape and visual impacts.
We are maintaining the sensitive Brook embankment and ensuring no net loss of biodiversity overall.
Further detail regarding the nature of the landscaping for the proposed development will be determined during the detailed design process.
Operation
Current estimates - By road, the operational vehicle movements (excluding staff travel) per day (Monday to Friday) over 50 weeks would equate to 152.5 movements (76.25 in and 76.25 out), at a rate of approximately 15.3 vehicles per hour.
Once constructed the plant is expected to receive IBA from the Protos site in Ellesmere Port, approximately 25km away by road. Material is also likely to come from Dublin by boat to the neighbouring Mersey Wharf. Any IBA that will be arriving from the dockside to the north of the site would be loaded in dumper trucks and moved to the processing area.
The proposed development would employ up to 10 staff who would work in shifts. Operational hours likely to be from 6am to 10pm, Monday to Friday, and a reduced 6am to 2pm shift on Saturday for emergencies.
Onsite parking provision will be agreed with Wirral Council, in accordance with the current standards, fourteen car parking spaces, two disabled car parking spaces and a bike rack for cycle storage.
The proposed development could provide a cycle connection through the site to complement and/or contribute to the ambition of Wirral Council of a ‘Wirral Circular Trail’.
To provide your feedback on the proposed development, please visit Bromborough Dock IBA Facility feedback survey (smartsurvey.co.uk)
1 December 2020
Protos Energy Recovery Facility achieves Financial Close and moves into construction
LONDON - December 1, 2020 – Covanta Holding Corporation (NYSE: CVA) ("Covanta"), Green Investment Group Limited (“GIG”) and Biffa plc (LSE: BIFF) (“Biffa”) today announced financial close and the commencement of construction on the Protos Energy Recovery Facility (“Protos ERF”) in Cheshire, England. Covanta and GIG will each own 37.5 percent of the state-of-the-art Energy-from-Waste (“EfW”) facility, with Biffa, the primary waste supplier for the facility, owning the remaining 25 percent of the project. (Read More)