Maryvale EfW consortium signs $48.2m MMI grant agreement

The Maryvale Energy from Waste (EfW) project, led by consortium partners Opal, Veolia and Masdar Tribe Australia, has signed a grant agreement for $48.2 million under the Manufacturing Collaboration Stream of the Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI).The project received the grant funding from the Australian Government as part of the Modern Manufacturing Strategy.

The Maryvale EfW facility will be the first of its kind in Australia to recover heat and power from residual non-recyclable municipal and commercial waste to provide partly renewable power for large-scale manufacturing.

Speaking on behalf of the consortium, Edward Nicholas, General Manager Masdar Tribe Australia, said: “The funding support from the Commonwealth not only demonstrates the importance of this technology in providing a waste management solution to a whole-of-community problem, but it also accelerates our project towards completing the development phase and commencing construction,” Nicholas said.

Set to be constructed at Opal Australian Paper’s Maryvale Mill in the Latrobe Valley, the $500m EfW facility will be operated and maintained by Veolia. It will be designed to provide councils and businesses with a waste management solution that will divert residual waste from landfill and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Contracts will be offered on a waste-arising basis, enabling councils to have the freedom to pursue future waste reduction initiatives without penalty.

Stage one of the facility’s construction will be designed to reduce Victoria’s net CO₂ emissions by an estimated 270,000 tonnes annually.

“The social, environmental and economic case to send non-recyclable waste to the Maryvale EfW facility is compelling,” Nicholas said.

The project has EPA Victoria and Latrobe City Council regulatory approvals for construction.

Image caption: Graphic of the proposed EfW facility.