Gasification technology firm EQTEC has signed an agreement with German EPC company ewerGY to develop the first waste gasification plant in Greece.

EQTEC has signed the equipment sale and services contract with ewerGY, operating in Greece through its local partner, ECO Hellas.

The contract covers the fully permitted and financed 0.5 MWe waste gasification project in Larissa, Greece, which is the first waste gasification plant in the country. The facility will be owned and operated by Greek promoter and developer, Agrigas Energy.

Once operational, the plant will use EQTEC’s gasification technology to convert agricultural waste from wheat, corn, and cotton harvests, otherwise destined for landfill or burning, into green electricity that will be exported into the grid.

The agreement covers the sale of equipment and engineering and design services worth €2 million to EQTEC, to be paid over 18 months. Construction of the plant is expected to begin in September and be completed in Q4 2021, creating local jobs during construction and once the facility is operational.

David Palumbo, CEO of EQTEC, said: “EQTEC’s cooperation with ewerGY and ECO Hellas continues to strengthen and deliver results and we are pleased to have signed an equipment sales and services contract with them.

“With the strong and increasing appetite from traditional banking institutions to provide financing for projects applying EQTEC’s advanced gasification technology, we look forward to commencing the construction of Greece’s first waste-to-energy gasification plant, which is fully permitted and funded.

“This plant and the growing pipeline of 18 potential projects that we are progressing well in Greece and the Balkan region are expected to deliver value to our stakeholders, local communities and our shareholders.

“Scalable waste-to-energy solutions using proven advanced gasification technologies such as EQTEC’s are important in the energy transition and decarbonisation market.”

“Our aim has been to be the first in Greece to build an advanced gasification plant, and today we are one step closer to achieving this by signing the subcontractor agreement with EQTEC,” commented ewerGY’s CEO, Gerd Kromarck.

“Together with our Greek sister company, ECO Hellas, we have been working on securing a pipeline of future projects to develop with EQTEC. We are now also setting up a commercial and technical training programme for our highly qualified and experienced staff in the region.

“Our people, located in Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, and Croatia, will be enabled to fully assess and exploit the unique characteristics of EQTEC’s advanced gasification technology.”