Warwickshire SME making a splash with ground-breaking wastewater solution

A small business from Warwickshire has developed a ground-breaking way of turning wastewater into hydrogen power.

Aided by the government's defence and security accelerator (DASA) funding, Wastewater Fuels has advanced its Microbial Electrolysis Cell (MEC) idea, which, in simple terms, can harness wastewater and create a matter, which is then transformed into hydrogen ions and converted into a gas.

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The Coventry-based company has been collaborating with Severn Trent Water, which has provided access to its wastewater treatment facilities to trial the technology, which has now been proven.

Coventry City Council has also further backed the initiative with additional funding.

The company is now preparing to produce a full-scale sewage facility at RAF Digby in Lincolnshire, at the current wastewater facility, managed by Severn Trent Services and in collaboration with Defence Support (Def SP) Futures R&E and jHub.

Martyn Lathbury, CEO of Wastewater Fuels said: "Funding via DASA enabled us to start developing MEC’s and resolve the numerous challenges that had to be solved to achieve effectiveness at scale.

"This has allowed us to demonstrate capability, gain further investment, grow the business and foster close engagement with MOD StratCom to understand their requirements and trial the system at full scale."

Lathbury started the firm with Daniel Carlotta-Jones (chief engineer) and James Stratford (CTO). It initially operated from a garage but now supports a team of 18 employees.

The technology not only supports the UK Government’s commitment to achieving NetZero Green House Gas emissions by 2050 and ‘slashing’ emissions by 78% by 2035, it also supports the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) desire to incorporate more circular economy principles into defence operations.

The MECs involves no moving parts, meaning less wear and tear, reduced component replacement, and easier maintenance.

It works by submerging numerous stainless steel mesh rods in wastewater, which is then treated by microbes that consume organic wastewater matter.

The consumed matter is transformed into hydrogen ions, which are further converted into hydrogen gas and stored within the rod.

It means they are ideal for locations with urgent water treatment needs, like frontline environments, or where circular energy is essential.

Lt Col Simon Watkins said: "The capability has the potential to increase self-sufficiency and reduce water treatment costs across the Defence Estate.

"With enormous potential for defence, the futures team feels privileged to have sponsored the development of a deployable prototype."