Dr Martin Ashcroft, managing director, Bruner Mord (UK) Ltd, at the CBI's energy conference. London, September 2010.

1. Brunner Mond
Developing Efficient On-Site
Generation
Martin Ashcroft
Managing Director
CBI Energy Conference 2010

2. Objectives
• Brunner Mond – Profile
• The Energy Challenge for Brunner Mond
• Developing Alternative On-Site Energy Generation

3. Brunner Mond - a brief profile
• UK’s only manufacturer of soda ash and Sodium
Bicarbonate – key everyday chemicals
– Key component of essential everyday products – glass, detergents, insulation,
chemicals, food, pharmaceuticals, haemodialysis products, Flue gas treatment
• Turnover of £170m; exports of over £50m
• European arm of Tata Chemicals Limited

4. UK Manufacturing Sites
Northwich Northwich
Cheshire

5. Winnington Bicarbonate Plant : Current Flagship Operation in TCL
Lostock Bicarbonate Plant : Commissioned 2009

6. Why Energy is Important to Brunner Mond ?
• Synthetic Soda Ash production is very energy intensive
– Brunner Mond requires 2.5 terawatt hours of heat energy - All from gas fired CHP
– Equivalent to the energy demand of 100,000 households
• Long term affordable energy is a challenge for European
soda ash producers
– Energy is roughly 30% of cost of production
– Raft of EU/UK regulation - RHI; gas prices; EU-ETS
– Government and EU demand to reduce CO2 emissions
• Soda Ash is a global market – increased cost cannot be
directly passed on
– Energy costs can kill a business: Closure of our Netherland plant in 2009

7. The Energy Challenge for Brunner Mond
• Having invested £140m in a state of the art gas-fired CHP plant in 2000
with 82% gross efficiency, BM operations now has one of the lowest
carbon footprints for soda ash production in the world.
• EU targets and EU-ETS demands that more savings are made
• Gas price uncertainty and carbon reduction commitments requires BM
to invest in alternative energy raising technology or face becoming
uncompetitive against US
– US has little prospect of similar TS for the foreseeable future

8. What are we doing to develop
alternative on-site energy generation ?
• Brunner Mond requirement for continuous large volumes of heat
(24 hours a day, 365 days per year) makes it an ideal location for an
Energy from Waste plant with good quality CHP
• Brunner Mond & E.ON Energy From waste are working together to
develop this project.

9. Sustainable Energy Plant
• Proposal to build a Sustainable Energy Plant (SEP) at our Lostock site
– Produce 100 tonnes / hr IP steam to provide one third of our heat energy demand
– Up to 60 MW Electricity generation for export to the national grid
– Requires 600 ktpa of waste derived fuel (economically recoverable recyclates removed)
– Reduces CO2 by 200ktpa

10. Energy and Climate Change Policy:
Government Support
• Development of new efficient on-site energy generation
requires high capital investment
• No Government capital support
• Incentive schemes in place (ROC / RHI)
– slowness/uncertainty about long term availability and pricing
• To encourage investment requires:
• Long term certainty on government incentive schemes (Grandfathering rights)
• Security of long term waste derived fuel supplies

11. Planning Barriers
• SEP planning application submitted to the Department of Energy
and Climate Change (DECC) under Section 36 of the Electricity Act
 Submitted ahead of the inception of the Infrastructure Planning Commission
 The Local Planning Authority is a statutory consultee
• Localism: tension between national and local priorities
• Extreme reluctance for local planning authorities to approve or not
object to renewable projects.
• Waste seen as a “problem to be disposed of” rather than as a fuel
source to replace fossil fuels
• Timescale to determine planning applications excessive

12. Overcoming Planning Barriers
• Energy from Waste with CHP is in line with government
policy but remains unpopular
 Public health concerns has been addressed by various agencies and many
installations in Western Europe but remains a concern at local level
• Need policies that support use of waste as an energy
source and remove the ‘proximity’ barriers
• Short list of approved technologies by government to
speed up approval processes
• Implement positive benefits for local community
 Waste heat - District heating

13. BM Carbon Emissions Forecast to 2030
1.20
1.10
1.00
0.90
CO2 emissions per tonne ash
New BM
0.80 CHP Plant
0.70
0.60
0.50
Biofuel Projects
Investment in Sodium
0.40 bicarbonate, Distllation, Ener
gy Management
0.30 SEP Plant
Commissioned
0.20
BM Carbon Emissions pta

14. Summary
• Many challenges remain to implement sustainable energy
generation despite clear government policy
• Planning remains the biggest issue
• Too slow
• Local and individual agendas
• Need long term policy certainty to attract investment
• National policy vs local issues. Decisions must not be delegated to
local authorities
• Mismatch between government target setting for green house gas
reduction versus timescale to implement.
• Government policy must support companies to implement changes

15. THANK YOU