SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited ("Atlantis"), the owner and operator of the Uskmouth Power Station Conversion Project located in Newport, Wales, is delighted to announce that after a competitive process, it has awarded Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe GmbH ("MHPS Europe") the contract to carry out the design and development of the combustion system for the flagship Uskmouth Power Station conversion project. This contract includes the large scale testing of the waste derived pellets which will be used as fuel in the converted Uskmouth plant.
MHPS Europe is the European subsidiary of Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. a joint venture company between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and Hitachi, Ltd. integrating their operations in thermal power generation systems and other related businesses, headquartered in Yokohama, Japan.
The contract will cover:
- Completion of industrial scale milling tests on the fuel pellets;
- Completion of industrial scale combustion tests on the fuel; and
- Completion of Uskmouth furnace burner system design
The results of these final validation tests are required ahead of the negotiation and award of the major Engineering, Procurement and Construction ("EPC") contract to supply the full combustion system to the project under the terms and conditions necessary for the project to secure project finance.
MHPS Europe anticipate that the fuel can be successfully milled and combusted using their existing technology and therefore the testing will take place using equipment already deployed across the globe in existing power projects. It is expected that industrial milling testing will occur in Germany at an existing MHPS Europe milling test facility and then final industrial scale combustion testing will occur at an existing MHPS combustion test facility in Nagasaki, Japan. We expect the testing to provide final validation of the fuel specification and the mill and burner designs required for use on the Uskmouth Power Station conversion project.
The fuel supplier for the project Simec Subcoal Fuels ("SSF") will assemble a dedicated industrial scale pilot production line for supply of the test fuel at their existing pelleting facility in Netherlands. The fuel produced at this facility will be sent to Germany and Japan for final testing by MHPS. The milling, combustion efficiency and emission results are expected to be available in Q2 2020.
The Uskmouth Power Station Conversion Project represents the world's first conversion of a power station from coal to 100% waste derived fuel, and following successful trials with MHPS the project will seek to achieve financial close in Q3 2020 with generation beginning in 2021.
