GIDARA ENERGY APPOINTS PX GROUP AS OPERATOR AT FLAGSHIP BIO-METHANOL PLANT IN PORT OF AMSTERDAM.
The plant, plans for which were revealed last year by GIDARA Energy and is due to become operational in 2024, is GIDARA Energy’s advanced biofuels facility and will convert non-recyclable waste into advanced methanol. The plant is known as Advanced Methanol Amsterdam (“AMA”) and is located in the BioPark, an industrial location in the Port of Amsterdam developed especially for producers of renewable fuels.
Advanced Methanol Amsterdam will produce Bio-Methanol that creates significant carbon savings compared to fossil-based fuels. Advanced methanol is a versatile renewable transportation fuel that, amongst others, can be used in the road transport, marine and aviation sectors, helping these sectors to reduce their carbon emissions and become more sustainable.
Wim Van Der Zande CEO of GIDARA Energy (left) and Geoff Holmes, px Group CEO (right) signed the operating agreement.
Operators
px Group has previously supported GIDARA Energy in the FEED (Front End Engineering Design) phase of the project. It will ultimately take on the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) of the AMA plant, proving its capabilities across whole project lifecycles.
With the potential for an expanded scope in the future, px Group will initially be:
- Supporting GIDARA Energy during the construction of the plant
- Supporting the start-up and commissioning of the facility
- Managing the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) of the facility following handover
- Taking on responsibility for recruiting and managing more than 50 full-time staff in Amsterdam
px Group has also registered a Dutch entity, px Netherlands BV, for this project and anticipated future project work with GIDARA at other key industrial locations in the Netherlands.
Neil Grimley, px Group’s Managing Director of GIDARA Projects, comments: “I’m looking forward to continuing what is now an extremely close relationship with GIDARA. We’ve already been working with them on the ground in the Netherlands through the FEED stage, and we’ll now be taking on even more responsibility in the coming months.”
Private Equity Influence
Both px Group and GIDARA Energy are backed by Ara Partners, a private equity company that specialises in investing in businesses, technology, and assets that have the ability or potential to cut carbon emissions in the industrial sectors significantly.]
Ara Partners acquired px Group in 2021. GIDARA Energy was founded in 2019 as a joint venture between Ara and G.I. Dynamics.
Commenting on the influence of Ara Partners on the partnership between px Group and GIDARA. Geoff Holmes, CEO of px Group, adds: “This partnership between px Group and GIDARA shows some real-world benefits of private equity ownership - Ara’s industry-wide connections, expert knowledge of the market, and commitment to the energy transition have opened so many doors for us. It has only been twelve months since Ara’s investment, and we are already seeing accelerated growth in operations both in the UK and internationally.”
Raf Stout, Chief Operating Officer at GIDARA Energy, says: “I am pleased to announce that px will be our partner to Operate and Maintain our flagship waste to bio-fuel plant in Amsterdam. px Group has a proven track record of Safe and Reliable operations of multiple gas and power facilities and has experience in flawless start-up of new bio-fuels facilities. px has already provided valuable support during the FEED phase, and I look forward to working with them to prepare for the successful start-up and operations of the Advanced Methanol Amsterdam facilitiy. We share the same vision and clear plans to grow sustainable manufacturing to support the energy transition.”
Media contacts GIDARA Energy
Salva Mehtash
Marketing & Public Relations Manager
communications@gidara-energy.com
About GIDARA Energy
GIDARA Energy is focused on converting non-recyclable waste into advanced biofuels using patented technologies. GIDARA Energy’s High-Temperature Winkler (HTW® 2.0) technology can be utilized to produce valuable products such as advanced biofuels for use in the road transport, marine and aviation sectors, helping these sectors to reduce their carbon emissions and become more sustainable.
The patented HTW® 2.0 technology is the leading gasification process, with decades of waste gasification experience at a commercial scale. Over the years, the technology has been significantly improved to achieve better results and handle a broad range of feedstocks.
GIDARA Energy’s objective is to meet the demand for cleaner fuels, reduce global carbon emissions and create a more circular economy, with more advanced biofuel and biochemical facilities to come.
About px Group
px Group is an award-winning, fully integrated infrastructure solutions business delivering innovative management services for high hazard and highly regulated environments.
Headquartered in Stockton-on-Tees and with offices in Aberdeen and the Humber, px Group has over 25 years’ experience in delivering end-to-end specialist services across all its service lines: Operations & Maintenance, Energy Management Services, Projects, Engineering & Consultancy, Due Diligence and Digital Solutions.
px Group also owns the world-renowned Saltend Chemicals Park at the heart of the UK’s Energy Estuary in the Humber, which is home to several world-leading manufacturing businesses such as Mitsubishi Chemicals, INEOS, and Vivergo Fuels.
px Group is committed to the Energy and Industrial Transition, and reducing emissions across all its operations, including the sites it manages and operates on behalf of its clients. The company’s dedicated Energy Transition team is engrained across all its client partnerships and service lines.