The Maryvale Energy from Waste (EfW) project, led by consortium partners Opal, Veolia and Masdar Tribe Australia, is going from strength to strength following the signing of the grant agreement for $48.2 million under the Manufacturing Collaboration Stream of the Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI).

The project received the grant funding from the Australian Government as part of the Modern Manufacturing Strategy.

According to the consortium partners, the Maryvale EfW facility will be the first of its kind in Australia to recover heat and power from residual non-recyclable municipal and commercial waste to provide partly renewable power for large-scale manufacturing.

Speaking on behalf of the consortium, Masdar Tribe Australia general manager Edward Nicholas said that the grant demonstrates the Australian Government’s commitment to supporting innovative, alternative energy sources for manufacturing.

“The funding support from the Commonwealth not only demonstrates the importance of this technology in providing a waste management solution to a whole-of-community problem, but it also accelerates our project towards completing the development phase and commencing construction,” he said.

The Maryvale EfW facility aims to provide councils and businesses with a competitive waste management solution that will divert residual waste from landfill and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Contracts will be offered on a waste arising basis, enabling councils to have the freedom to pursue future waste reduction initiatives without penalty.

“The social, environmental and economic case to send non-recyclable waste to the Maryvale EfW facility is compelling. With finite capacity and heightened interest, forward-thinking Councils are moving quickly to secure this opportunity while it’s still available,” Nicholas said.

The Maryvale EfW project also aims to attract investment capital of over $600 million to the Latrobe Valley, with the infrastructure supporting the sustainable growth of an energy industry in the Gippsland region.

It is said to create more than 500 jobs in Victoria and Gippsland during the construction phase, and support an estimated 450 Victorian jobs once operational, including direct and flow-on.

The EfW facility will be constructed at Opal Australian Paper’s Maryvale Mill in the Latrobe Valley.

Veolia, which already operates 65 EfW facilities around the world, will operate and maintain the facility.

The EfW facility will use non-recyclable residual waste to produce steam and electricity to supply the mill.

It will feature leading technology that provides reliability, compliance to emissions standards, energy efficiency and more than 99 per cent diversion of waste away from landfill consistent with circular economy principles.