Councillors have approved plans to create an innovative plastic processing facility in Yorkshire.
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council granted consent for the application to convert an industrial building in the town into a plant to produce hydrogen from polymer-based waste.
Documents published by the local authority reveal that the 3,200 square metre facility will be located on the Magna site on Sheffield Road.
It will generate green hydrogen from up to 13,000 tonnes of non-recyclable plastic every year.
Thermal decomposition will be used to break down complex polymer chains into a syngas that will be cooled, separated and purified to allow extraction of hydrogen.
Planning officers said the plant would primarily be used to test production methods rather than acting commercially.
It will be incorporated into the visitor experience at the “popular” Magna Science Centre and could in future be viewed from a proposed internal platform.
Hydrogen can be used as fuel for transport and heating systems.
