CHESTERFIELD BIOGAS WINS FIRS

RNS Number : 1293N

Pressure Technologies PLC

07 June 2010

 



CHESTERFIELD BIOGAS WINS FIRST MAJOR ORDER

Pressure Technologies plc ("Pressure Technologies" or the "Group") is pleased to announce that its operating division, Chesterfield BioGas ("CBG") has secured its first major order from Centrica plc ("Centrica"), the owners of British Gas.

CBG will supply Centrica with one of the UK's first biogas upgrading plants for the production of clean biomethane from waste for direct injection into the national gas grid.

Biomethane is similar in properties to the natural gas which is currently supplied through the grid, except that it is generated from organic waste products such as cattle manure, horticultural, food and household waste.  Unlike many other "green" energy solutions, the "closed loop" production process for biomethane, is environmentally sustainable and, therefore, is expected to make a significant contribution to the achievement of the UK's carbon reduction targets.

The order, worth in excess of £0.6 million, has resulted from a partnership between Centrica, Scotia Gas Networks and Thames Water to process the gas naturally produced by waste water at the Didcot Sewage Works.  CBG has been working with the partnership to integrate the upgrading unit into the system that extracts the raw gas during sewage processing. 

The upgrading plant employs proven water scrubbing technology to upgrade the raw gas to 98% pure biomethane.  This will be injected into the grid for use by all gas customers, both commercial and domestic.  The unit is expected to be installed this summer and the Didcot plant is forecast to commence operation later this year. 

The water scrubbing technology used in the biomethane production process was pioneered in New Zealand and is already being successfully employed in plants in Japan, Germany, France, Spain and, particularly, in Sweden, where Pressure Technologies has experience of co-operating on similar projects.

Centrica's order follows the publication of the injection to grid tariffs under the UK Government's Renewable Heat Incentive ("RHI"), which will begin operating in April 2011.  Under the RHI, feed-in tariffs will reward generators of renewable energy from a variety of sources.  Subject to Government confirmation of the future level of RHI subsidies, the Directors of Pressure Technologies expect this to provide a significant stimulus to the market for CBG's gas upgrading technology and the Group is actively working on a number of other potential biomethane to grid projects.

Natural gas and biomethane also has considerable scope as a vehicle fuel and CBG has supplied a filling station for Sheffield City Council to fuel its natural gas vehicles.  In addition, a grant has been awarded under the Department of Transport's Infrastructure Grants Programme ("IGP") to provide compressed gas fuelling facilities to the London Borough of Greenwich.  CBG is currently in advanced stages of negotiation with a number of local authorities, public utilities and transport operators for similar projects.

It is intended that the high-pressure storage requirements for all these projects will be built for CBG by the Group's Chesterfield Special Cylinders division.

For further information, please contact:

Pressure Technologies plc John Hayward, Chief Executive James Lister, Group Finance Director	Tel: [phone] www.pressuretechnologies.co.uk
Fairfax IS PLC Ewan Leggat / Simon Bennett / Laura Littley	Tel: [phone]
Rawlings Financial PR Limited Catriona Valentine	Tel: [phone] www.rawlingsfinancial.co.uk

Company description:

Pressure Technologies is the holding company for Chesterfield Special Cylinders Limited ("CSC"). CSC designs, manufactures and offers retesting and refurbishment services for a range of speciality high pressure, seamless steel gas cylinders for global energy and defence markets. The business has been conducted under the "Chesterfield" brand which is a long established name in the cylinders and specialised pressure vessel market.  

Chesterfield BioGas, an operating division of Pressure Technologies, formed in November 2008 following the signing of a co-operation agreement with Greenlane^® Biogas Limited, a world leader in biogas upgrading from raw biogas to vehicle quality fuel, gives Pressure Technologies exclusive rights to market Greenlane^® equipment in the UK and Eire.  Chesterfield BioGas will provide turnkey solutions for the cleaning, storage and dispensing of biomethane, produced from waste water treatment and anaerobic digestion of organic waste.

Al-Met is a niche manufacturer of specialised, precision engineered valve wear parts used in the oil and gas industries, which was acquired by Pressure Technologies in February 2010.  Its products are used in high-pressure choke and flow control valves, designed to regulate flow volumes in extremely demanding applications in the subsea and surface oil and gas industries.  The business, which was established in 1985, has developed a leading edge capability in precision machining carbides and superalloy matrix materials. 

 

END

 

 

CNTKKQDPPBKDDAK