Green light for production – and down payment received: A.H.T. Syngas Technology N.V. (“A.H.T.” for short) reports the go-ahead for production of the first commercial plant for hydrothermal carbonization of sewage sludge in the USA. After intensive project planning and preparation of the complete engineering according to U.S. standards and units of measurement, the customer from the North East of the United States has now given the go-ahead for production. In the USA, too – as in Europe – the pressure on municipalities and operators of wastewater treatment plants to treat residual waste appropriately depending on its pollutant load is growing. This is where A.H.T. comes in with its own CleanTech solutions: Especially for landfilling, the material is usually dried or incinerated with a high energy input, which is harmful to the climate. Hydrothermal carbonization (“HTC”) as a continuous process offers a much more favourable alternative. The sewage sludge can be dried to more than 70 % dry matter without thermal drying. Thus, the hydrocarbon produced provides a potential fuel for the A.H.T. syngas plants. Valuable nutrients can be extracted from the pressed water. The now odourless hydrocarbon can be used energetically or materially as a soil conditioner. “We are pleased that after careful preliminary planning, the production phase is now starting. The core module of the HTC plant will be manufactured in Switzerland according to our specifications – once again we would like to thank our Swiss partner for the good cooperation,” explains Gero Ferges, CEO of A.H.T.. “We assume that it will not remain with this first plant: A corresponding framework agreement has been reached with the project partners and a high level of interest from other potential customers is already emerging,” continues Mr. Ferges. “We are thus opening up another market in which A.H.T. has not been represented to date.” A down payment for the production has already been received by A.H.T.. A.H.T. is tackling the project in the USA together with a Swiss partner.
