UK energy from waste operator enfinium has deployed innovative AI visualisation technology from German developer Wasteer at its Parc Adfer facility in Deeside, North Wales.
The deployment follows the successful completion of a pilot at enfinium’s Ferrybridge 2 facility which commenced in November 2024.
Digital, AI and technology enhancements are at the heart of our asset management strategy, and we are always looking for innovative ways to improve the performance of our plants.
Advanced camera technology powered by AI will automatically analyse incoming waste to detect contaminants before they cause operational problems. The system can also issue real-time alerts and will record data on the waste stream. Wasteer employs a proprietary database as well as Large Language Models (LLMs) and AI.
The automation will enable enfinium to analyse its waste streams more accurately, improving plant efficiency and reliability, and maximising uptime. This approach can, for instance, reduce plant downtimes by about 30 per cent and increase throughput by around 2%.
Chris Bebbington, Group Head of Asset Management at enfinium, tells FM Magazine: “Digital, AI and technology enhancements are at the heart of our asset management strategy, and we are always looking for innovative ways to improve the performance of our plants. At Ferrybridge 2, we were already able to achieve promising results in the validation phase with Wasteer. It was therefore a logical step for us to extend this technology to other plants as quickly as possible.”
Benedict von Spankeren, CEO of Wasteer, adds: “With our technology, we quickly deliver measurable effects. The initial effort by the pilot plant was very low: we need an internet network on-site and electricity, we take care of everything else. In the following process it’s all about learning from each other quickly and efficiently.
“Of course, we are particularly pleased when, as in this case, we can create trust over time that the use of our technology in other plants and over an extended period of time is worthwhile.”
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