ZeroPoint Clean Tech Powers Ahead with its Second Gasification Plant

ZeroPoint Clean Tech's biomass
gasification system in Newry,
Northern Ireland. 

A New York-based biomass renewable energy company that produces carbon-negative heat and power through high-temperature gasification announced its second commercial plant has gone live in Europe.

The 2MW gasification facility is located in Newry, Northern Ireland through the partnership of Kedco plc, a United Kingdom project developer. The plant is producing carbon-negative heat and power from agricultural and forestry waste. ZeroPoint Clean Tech’s gasification system creates biochar as a by-product, which is likely how the facility is able to achieve carbon-negative status. Putting biochar back into the ground sequesters the carbon and greatly improves plant growth, thereby making the entire process carbon negative.

Jonah Levine of Biochar Solutions explains that using the gas created by the gasifier to dry the feedstock before putting it through the gasification process can also help the facility receive a carbon negative status. We do not know if ZeroPoint Clean Tech uses this method or not.

Biochar is still highly underdeveloped in the industry as companies continue to explore the best uses for the fixed carbon form of highly porous charcoal that results from the thermal combustion process. One study estimates that biochar could offset as much as 12 percent of global greenhouse gas production. Reducing greenhouse gases is essential to slowing global warming and keeping low-lying islands like the Maldives from disappearing altogether.

ZeroPoint Clean Tech's gasification process.
Courtesy: ZeroPoint Clean Tech

The Newry, Northern Ireland facility is ZeroPoint’s second biomass gasification plant in Europe. Construction on ZeroPoint’s first commercial unit was installed in Schwarze-Pumpe, Germany using Jenbacher gas engines. The American company partnered with Blue Planet Sustainable Energy, N.V. to develop the project, which passed the rigorous TUV process in Germany.  The facility began supplying electricity to the local utility in December 2011. Both units use the syngas in a combusted gas engine to produce power for the local utility grid.

“We are very excited to be working on a second successful deployment of an advanced biomass-to-energy solution, CEO John Gaus said. “We believe that we are currently producing the most stable, steady state and clean gas chemistry from biomass gasification in the world. We fully expect this second project to achieve operational robustness, reliability and commercial profitability.”

Better BTU Take: This company has flown under the radar since its inception in 2006. We think that’s a smart move because it allows the technology to speak for itself. Although we’ll need a little more time to ensure that these plants can operate continuously without mechanical or emissions problems, two commercial facilities is a great start. We are disappointed that the company hasn’t disclosed many details – we couldn’t even find the exact size of the plant in Germany – because it seems to like if you are certain you have the best gas chemistry in the world you’d want to at least share general BTU ranges, etc. The company has announced that it is actively seeking joint venture partners in the Americas and we’ll be interested to see if ZeroPoint Clean Tech can land a stateside project.

For Further Reading:

ZeroPoint Clean Tech Announces Second Live Biomass Gasification Power Plant – By ZeroPoint Clean Tech, Inc., PR Newswire (Aug. 6, 2012)

Biochars Promise to Provide Carbon Negative Fuel and Better Soil – By Andrew Michler, Inhabitat (May 5, 2012)

Biochar Could Offset Up to 12% of Greenhouse Gases, Says Study – By Jasmin Malik Chua, Inhabitat (Aug. 13, 2010)

News - ZeroPoint Clean Tech (company website)