British waste to energy (wte) plant operator Enfinium plans to use visual artificial intelligence technology supplied by German start-up Wasteer to improve the efficiency of its Ferrybridge II facility in West Yorkshire. Once installed, the AI-powered advanced camera technology will automatically analyse incoming waste to detect contaminants before they cause operational problems, Enfinium said last week. The system can also issue real-time alerts and will record data on the waste input stream. Wasteer employs a proprietary database as well as Large Language Models (LLMs) and AI, Enfinium explained.
Wasteer's analytical solutions have been designed to detect impurities and calorific value. The software can also issue digital control reports, digititalise scheduling and provide up-to-date overviews of customers and waste. Enfinium expects to see improvements in plant efficiency and reliability. The automation is to reduce downtimes by about 30 per cent, cut operating supplies by up to 8 per cent, and increase throughput by around 2 per cent. The Ferrybridge II "multi-fuel" plant processes around 725,000 tonnes of waste annually.
"Enfinium is always looking for innovations in technology that can optimise our plant efficiency. Wasteer’s AI technology, which allows real-time, automated analysis of incoming waste, will give us a wealth of data to base operational decisions on and enable early detection of impurities in the waste stream, preventing any issues before they arise.," said Chris Bebbington, head of asset management at Enfinium. "By partnering with Wasteer, who have a strong track record in Europe, we’re continuing to drive innovation and efficiency in the UK’s energy-from-waste sector."
Enfinium is Wasteer's first customer in the UK, but the start-up's systems are already in use by wte plant operators on the Continent. German incineration plant operator EEW Energy From Waste GmbH trialled the company's technology in five of its facilities and recently decided to roll out its use at another ten plants.
"Wasteer has been in use at five selected EEW plants for some time. The fact that the decision has been made to expand the use of our solutions to 15 plants after the success of the initial phase is an important confirmation of our work and our approach," said Benedict von Spankeren, founder of Wasteer.
