A NEW plant producing hydrogen and electricity from waste is to be built at the Protos site at Ince Marshes.

Cheshire West and Chester Council’s planning committee unanimously approved the plans from Waste2Tricity and Peel Environmental at Tuesday’s meeting.

The facility will take up to 35 tonnes of waste of day for thermal conversion to synthesis gas, which will be cleaned and compressed to produce both electricity and hydrogen – which can be used as a clean fuel.

Electricity generated at the site is set to be fed into the power grid at Protos, to enable other businesses on the site be powered by it, with any unused electricity being used on the wider grid.

Opening the debate, Labour Cllr Val Armstrong said: “I see that there are no local objections to this.

“It is in an already industrial area and provides a facility that will divert waste from landfill, particularly plastic waste, and use that to create renewable energy.

“So it seems to have lots of pluses for me.”

“I think this is a great opportunity for Cheshire to be at the forefront of a new technology and I will support it,” added Cllr Lynn Gibbon, Conservative.

The plant is expected to take nine months to build.