Equipment company will assist in building a plastic scrap-to-energy facility in Akron, Ohio.
Rockwell Automation, Milwaukee, Wis., has won a $15 million engineering, procurement, construction and management contract from Vadxx Energy LLC for its first commercial-scale, plastic waste-to-synthetic crude energy facility in its headquarters city of Akron, Ohio. When fully operational, the facility will convert about 60 tons per day of plastic scrap into a fuel product.
The Akron facility will include Rockwell’s PlantPAx Process Automation System suite, which the company describes as using Rockwell’s “multi-discipline control platform to deliver an integrated smart plant for Vadxx.”
The private equity firm Liberation Capital, Charlotte, N.C., has signed an agreement with Vadxx to fund the first unit and additional commercial units.
“Vadxx is focused on successfully establishing our first commercial unit as the important first step toward global expansion,” says Jim Garrett, Vadxx Energy’s CEO. “Liberation Capital, Rockwell Automation, feedstock suppliers and other partners will play key roles in our growth and success.”
“Our technology represents a unique and profitable way to decrease the amount of end-of-life plastics that are disposed in landfills and convert them to synthetic oil and gas,” says Jeremy DeBenedictis, VAdxx’s vice president of operations. “Rockwell Automation strengthens our technology by providing complete design, build and commissioning of our new plant. We’ll have a process technology solution that will enable us to rapidly deploy our technology globally.”
“This win is significant for us because it demonstrates our sustained effort to become an industry leader in alternative energy solutions, helping to preserve the world's natural resources and promoting a cleaner environment,” says Terry Gebert, vice president and general manager, Rockwell Automation Global Solutions. “Our team is helping Vadxx reduce risk, shorten its time to market and expand to other global regions.”
