In addition to the £44 million being invested in brand new industry-leading anaerobic digestion facilities in Widnes and Dagenham for its ReFood food waste business, the company is also spending £29 million to upgrade its animal by-product rendering operations in Nuneaton and Widnes and a further £18 million on its petfood processing facilities in Widnes, Doncaster and Nottingham.
PDM opened its first ReFood plant in Doncaster in September 2011, which has set the benchmark in AD plant construction and operation. The new £20 million plant at Widnes, due for completion at the end of the year, will have 50 per cent more capacity, with three combined heat and power (CHP) engines to convert the biogas produced during the AD process into renewable electricity.
Capable of handling 90,000 tonnes of commercial and domestic food waste, Widnes will generate enough energy for approximately 8,000 homes, as well as heat which will be used by its rendering operation on site and by adjacent businesses. The organic fertiliser produced will be used by farmers in the local area to grow new crops.
In addition to renewable energy and digestate for agriculture, the Dagenham AD plant, which is due to be constructed later this year, will produce bio-methane either for export to the Gas Grid or for commercial vehicles and buses. The use of bio-methane in road vehicles will help meet the increasing demand for greener transport fuels by the supermarkets and Transport for London as it has a lower NOx content than diesel.
Andy Smith, chief executive officer at PDM, said: “This is a significant investment in new and existing facilities in the UK that will ensure we remain at the forefront of food waste and animal by product processing.
“As part of Saria Bio-Industries, PDM is committed to using the most advanced technological solutions to ensure we optimise the resource value and quality of food by-products and waste, through state-of-the-art processing techniques and world class quality standards.
“This investment will future-proof our business and give customers the reassurance that they are dealing with the best in the industry, while allowing us to expand significantly our operations in the UK.