Bio&PlastiCCS is a KSP-S project led by SINTEF Industry, with participation from SINTEF Energy Research, Mana Group, Equinor, Biogass Norge, AGH University in Poland and Geminor. KSP-S is a Research Council of Norway scheme for competence-building research collaboration, where research institutions and industry partners work together to develop knowledge with practical and societal value. The project is based at SINTEF’s 150 kW chemical looping facility in Trondheim and will run for three years.
The core technology is chemical looping gasification, a process that co-processes non-recyclable plastic waste and biomass residues. When biogenic carbon from biomass is captured and permanently stored, the process has the potential to contribute to carbon dioxide removal. The project will scale the technology from laboratory to pilot level, develop oxygen carrier materials, and assess the feasibility of future scale-up in Norway and Europe.
Why feedstock matters
The quality of gasification outputs, syngas and other industrial chemicals, is directly influenced by the quality of the feedstock going in. Non-recyclable plastics and biomass residues are highly variable materials; no two batches are the same. Differences in composition right down to the elemental level (C,H, O, N), moisture content, all affect how efficiently the gasification process runs and the quality of the final product.
This is where Geminor’s role becomes relevant. Geminor handles more than 2 million tonnes of European residual waste each year and has detailed operational knowledge of how waste streams are sourced, sorted, documented and transported across borders.
For Geminor R&D, the project is directly linked to a key question in the future of residual waste management: how can waste streams that cannot be recycled today be better characterised and used in solutions with a credible climate case?
"Successful scaling of solutions for residual waste that aim to recover more while lowering environmental impact depends on being able to utilise waste that actually exists in the market. Geminor's contribution is to bring practical knowledge of European waste streams into the research process, and to work collaboratively with industry leaders to tackle this," says Kirstie Jones-Williams, PhD, Director of Innovation and Sustainability at Geminor.
Part of a broader R&D direction
Bio&PlastiCCS is one of several research initiatives Geminor is engaged in to better understand the future role of residual waste in a more regulated and carbon-conscious market.
Regulation, carbon pricing and end-market expectations are pushing the industry towards solutions with stronger documentation and clearer climate performance. Projects like Bio&PlastiCCS give Geminor early insight into technologies that may shape future demand for non-recyclable plastic waste, biomass residues and other complex feedstocks.
Geminor’s role is to ensure that when new technologies move closer to scale, the supply-side knowledge is already part of the development process.
About Bio&PlastiCCS
Technology: Chemical looping gasification
Duration: Three years
Funding: Research Council of Norway, KSP-S
Facility: SINTEF’s 150 kW chemical looping plant, Trondheim
Consortium: SINTEF Industry, SINTEF Energy Research, Geminor, Mana Group, Equinor, Biogass Norge and AGH University of Poland
Feedstock: Non-recyclable plastic waste and biomass residues
Output: Low-carbon hydrogen, valuable by-products and CO₂ storage
Geminor representative
Kirstie Jones-Williams, PhD
Director of Innovation and Sustainability, Geminor