The Protos Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) in North West England has received approval from Cheshire West and Chester Council’s planning committee for their carbon capture project, moving the project another step closer to becoming a pioneering carbon capture plant.

Back in April developers of the project, the EfW group Encyclis, announced progression in plans for their first full-scale UK carbon capture plant. Since then, the project has received funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) as part of its Track-1 cluster sequencing programme for industrial carbon capture.

Once the facility is in operation, Protos ERF will process up to 500,000 tonnes of residual waste per year, enough to power 75,000 homes while also contributing to the UK’s circular economy goals.

Owen Michaelson, CEO at Encyclis, described this result as a ‘significant step forward’ for the project to deliver carbon capture on a commercial scale. “Our goal is to prove that we can continue to deliver a vital public sanitation service while cutting the CO2 emissions that contribute to climate change,” he added. “We thank the local authority for its careful and efficient consideration of our application and recognising the strategic importance of this project.”