A planned facility in North Lincolnshire will be able to convert high-moisture biomass such as food waste into coal-like solid fuels.

Fuel manufacturer CPL Industries aims to install what it says will be the UK’s first commercial-scale hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) unit at an existing facility in Immingham.

The plant, which is scheduled to begin production in mid-2018, is being constructed in partnership with the University of Nottingham and The Energy Research Accelerator, an initiative funded by Innovate UK.

The HTC process uses moderate temperatures and high pressures to mimic the long-term natural process of coal formation, with the process taking a matter of hours rather than thousands of years.

The groups involved say the fuel products created could be used in both domestic and industrial applications, with CPL Industries hoping to replace the need for fossil fuels in its home heating products.