Encyclis has agreed to sell its 50 per cent ownership stake in the Dublin waste to energy (wte) facility to Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), a major British pension fund, as part of a further reshaping of its portfolio. Announced on Wednesday, the transaction is expected to be completed in summer 2026, subject to regulatory clearance.
Encyclis said the divestment supports its strategy of focusing on a core cluster of energy from waste (EfW) assets in the British Midlands. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.
Last year, the wte plant operator began to consolidate its portfolio, announcing plans to acquire full ownership of the Newhurst and Protos energy recovery projects from its joint venture partner, the waste management company Biffa. Encyclis also announced the sale of the Irish facility's operating company to the Swiss plant engineering specialist Kanadevia Inova. That sale was only recently finalised.
Dublin Waste to Energy (DWTE), the entity which owns the waste recovery facility, has five direct employees. In addition to Encyclis, its owners are investors DIF Capital Partners and MEAG, who together hold 50 per cent of DWTE.
The sale would mark the end of Encyclis's nearly 20-year involvement with the Dublin wte project. The Irish plant was its first major undertaking in Europe at a time when it was still operating as Covanta and the bulk of its business was in the US.
Encyclis' first major European project
The company initially entered a public-private partnership (PPP) agreement with four Dublin-area local authorities in 2007, under which it was to design, build, finance and operate a wte facility on the Poolbeg peninsula. More than a decade passed before the facility was built and went into operation, following a protracted dispute over the foreshore licence, as well as EU state aid and procurement complaints. At one stage, the future of the project grew so uncertain that Covanta wrote off its investment.
Following the spin-off of Covanta's European operations from the US business in 2022, Dublin was the only waste plant outside the UK in which the company owned a majority holding. It also owns a legacy minority stake at the Trezzo sull’Adda wte plant in Italy.
Completed in 2018, the Dublin wte plant can currently process around 600,000 tonnes per year of residual waste from the city and surrounding areas. Following a series of mechanical and electrical enhancements to boilers, combustion systems, cooling systems and ash handling systems planned by KVI, the throughput of the facility is expected to increase by up to 90,000 tonnes per year.
Encyclis's fleet of UK energy from waste plants comprises three operational plants – Rookery South, Newhurst and Earls Gate – alongside Protos, which is in commissioning, the Walsall energy recovery facility which is under construction and the Corby project which is in development.
USS is the principal pension fund for UK universities and higher education institutions, manages assets of nearly £77bn (approximately €89bn. The pension scheme operator describes itself as a long-term investor with a focus infrastructure and energy assets.
