DB3 Energy & Waste Architecture
DB3 Energy & Waste Architecture
The energy and waste sector is a major contributor to the UK’s Circular Economy and plays a pivotal role in decarbonising the UK and achieving and maintaining Net Zero targets. Enabling global, industry leading facilities to divert waste from landfill, improve recycling capabilities and maximise opportunities for energy creation and heat & energy recovery is at the centre of the sector’s purpose.
UK energy use from renewable and waste sources reached 14.4% in 2020, an increase of 2.5% from the previous year. In terms of Energy from Waste (EfW) 14.9Mt of Residual Waste was processed in 2021, an increase of 0.8Mt on 2020, with power exports of 8.6TWh (just under 3% of UK total generation) and heat exports of 1.8TWh. There are currently 55 operational EfWs in the UK.*
The UK generated 222.2 million tonnes of total waste in 2018, with Construction, Demolition and Excavation (CD&E; including dredging) generating around three fifths (62%), Commercial and Industrial (C&I) waste accounted for almost a fifth (19%) and the remaining fifth was split between ‘Households’ (12%) and ‘Other’ activities (7%).*
*Sources
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-waste-data/uk-statistics-on-waste
Delivering both Waste and Energy schemes effectively for clients requires specific demonstrable knowledge and expertise gained only through experience of delivering similar relevant facilities.  As such DB3’s team has more than 30 years of combined experience on over 40 energy and waste facilities throughout the UK.
Our specialist team’s unrivalled experience throughout all RIBA Stages includes concept design, planning and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as well as detailed design and construction support on schemes up to 700,000 tonnes per annum / 70mw.
Our team has worked for large multi-disciplinary consultancies as well as Tier 1 construction companies on a diverse range of relative schemes including:
DB3 has developed strong relationships with, and are trusted by, many UK waste operators, technology providers and civils contractors as well as other consultants who specialise in the sector. It is these relationships and trust in our knowledge and expertise that is the key to our achievements in the industry.
Benefits of Energy from Waste
Benefits of Energy from Waste
Waste is a big challenge. Defra latest figures of all waste generated in the UK dates 2018, when the figures stood at 222.2millions tones that year alone.
Also known as Energy to Waste (EtA), EfW is a modern process that turns non-recyclable waste into several energies such as combined heat and power products, which are then fed into the grid.
EfW facilities also provide a safe, technologically advanced means of waste disposal that reduces the amount of waste going to landfills, which in turn reduces the emissions of greenhouse gases and carbon. A further benefit of fewer landfills is the reduction of the risks of soil and land contamination that in turn can endanger local wildlife and habitat.
Other advantages associated with EfW includes lowering the carbon footprint, improving energy efficiencies by an estimated 40%, and reducing the dependency of energy imports and any of its associated environmental costs during transportation.
Experts in Energy from Waste
Experts in Energy from Waste
Our team have a thorough understanding of the EfW process as well as site operational requirements and the various technologies allowing DB3 to offer expert architectural advice in relation to fire protection and compartmentation, acoustics, corrosive environments, odour abatement and site logistics.
We understand the importance of programme, cost and quality as well as timescales for key elements, both at the planning and permitting stage as well as during the construction stage.
Having successfully formed part of the delivery team on many of the current operational UK facilities our team’s experiences bring huge value resulting in DB3 providing a positive impact on any project that we are involved with.
DB3 Services for the Energy & Waste Sector
DB3 Services for the Energy & Waste Sector
DB3 Energy & Waste Team – Key Members
DB3 Energy & Waste Team – Key Members
Leading our team is Tom Hill, Board Director and Chartered Architect who has over 12 years of expertise working within the Energy & Waste sector. Tom’s experience includes overseeing multidisciplinary design teams on over 20 Energy from Waste facilities including the multi-award winning Great Blakenham EfW for SUEZ.
Overlooking the overall delivery of DB3 Architectural Services for Energy & Waste clients, is Michael French, Associate Architect, with more than 7 years of in-depth Energy from Waste experience. Michael has worked on projects such as the £252m Avonmouth RRC for Viridor and North London Waste Authority’s Energy Recovery Facility (ERF).
Kevin Axtell is our Senior Architectural Technologist with 12 years of experience delivering many EfW facilities throughout the UK. Specialising in detailed design and coordination of the Main Process Building, he has experience in all building sectors and involvement in projects with a value in excess of £250m.
Latest DB3 Energy and Waste Projects
Latest DB3 Energy and Waste Projects
Our DB3 Energy and Waste team are currently delivering RIBA Stages 2-6 of the Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) for North London Waste Authority as part of Acciona’s team. The £683 million scheme forms part of a £1.2 billion investment in Edmonton in Enfield known as the North London Heat and Power Project (NLHPP) and will replace Europe’s oldest EfW plant. The project will be the UK’s greenest Energy Recovery Facility and when complete will generate 70WM which can power 127,000 homes.
DB3 are delivering RIBA Stages 2-3 as part of SUEZ’s bid for the £300 million Tees Valley Energy Recovery Facility, which will be located on a brownfield site in Redcar & Cleveland. This 450,000 tonnes per annum scheme will accept waste from seven councils including Darlington, Durham, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Stockton and Redcar & Cleveland, and is expected to begin operations in April 2026.
DB3 provided RIBA Stage 2 design for a new state-of-the-art 49.9MW Energy Recovery Centre in North Lincolnshire. The Scunthorpe scheme, which also includes a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), an Incinerator Bottom Ash (IBA) facility and options for onsite hydrogen production, will process up to 500,000 tonnes of waste each year and is expected to generate enough sustainable electricity for over 60,000 homes.
Previous EfW Project Experience
Previous EfW Project Experience
Our team are well known and respected within the industry having been involved in many of the UK Energy and Energy from Waste facilities, both at DB3 and as individuals at previous employers, which include the following:
North London ERFÂ [Pre-construction & Construction]
Drax Biomass Conversion Units 1 – 3 [Construction]
Ratcliffe on Soar Power Station [Pre-Construction]
Lynemouth Power Station [Pre-Construction]
Drax additional Biomass storage [Pre-Construction]
Drax Biomass Conversion Units 4 – 6 [Pre-Construction]
Teesport Renewable Energy Plant [Construction]
Project ARBRE [Pre-Construction]
Graythorp, Teesside [Pre-Construction]
PD Ports, Teesside [Pre-Construction]
Uskmouth Power Station [Pre-Construction]
Avonmouth RRC [Pre-Construction]
Teesside Renewable Energy [Pre-Construction]
Javelin Park, Gloucestershire EfW [Construction]
Greengate’s EfW [Pre-Construction]
Fleetwood EfW [Pre-Construction]
Rye House EfW [Pre-Construction]
Aberdeen EfW [Pre-Construction]
Parc Adfer EfW [Construction]
Lostock EfW [Pre-Construction]
Tees Valley EfW [Pre-Construction]
Immingham EfW [Pre-Construction]
Kelvin EfW [Pre-Construction]
4 Ashes Staffordshire [Construction]
Leeds RERF [Construction]
Cardiff ERF [Construction]
Cornwall ERC [Construction]
Great Blakenham Ipswich [Construction]
Kemsley K3 [Pre-Construction]
Darwen ERC [Pre-Construction]
Redcar ERC (PMAC) [Pre-Construction]
Northeast (Confidential) [Pre-Construction]
Britaniacrest, Sussex [Pre-Construction]
Scunthorpe ERC [Pre-Construction]
Newport EFW [Pre-Construction]
Pyrocore (Modular) [Pre-construction & Construction]
Ardley EfW [Construction]
Torfaen [Construction]
Denbighshire [Pre-Construction]
Warrington [Pre-construction & Construction]
Avonmouth RRC [Pre-construction & Construction]
Renescience Northwich [Pre-construction & Construction]
Greatmoor EfW [Pre-construction & Construction]
The DB3 Energy & Waste team offer expertise to complement and enhance the services offered by DB3 Net Zero. Recycling, waste transfer, Energy from Waste and heat recovery a fundamental part of DB3’s specialisms.
DB3 Net Zero
DB3 Net Zero
DB3 Net Zero draws on the experience of our in-house mechanical & electrical engineers, architects, energy assessors, Passivhaus designers and sustainability experts. Our suite of Net Zero consultancy services is broken down into six categories which cover topics around whole life cycle.
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