A Boston-based company called Ze-gen Inc. opened a $9 million test facility on Shawmut Avenue that the company hopes will turn the things we throw away into the energy we need.

By Aaron Nicodemus

Standard-Times staff writer
July 24, 2007
 

NEW BEDFORD — The Whaling City has historically been known for hosting industries like fishing, textiles and manufacturing.

How about cutting-edge energy generation?
 

On Monday, a Boston-based company called Ze-gen Inc. opened a $9 million test facility on Shawmut Avenue that the company hopes will turn the things we throw away into the energy we need.
 

"We're trying to do something that we believe holds great promise," said Ze-gen Inc. president and CEO Bill Davis at the facility's ribbon-cutting ceremony. "We intend to demonstrate that we can turn the organic materials in common waste products into synthetic gas."
 

For the next 12 months, Ze-gen will test the amount and quality of synthetic gas that is created when construction and demolition debris is introduced into a molten bath. Should the yearlong test prove that enough gas is produced, Ze-gen would then look to build a power plant somewhere in Massachusetts, preferably in the city, Mr. Davis said.
 

The test facility is located at 1245 Shawmut Ave., at New Bedford Waste Services, a trash transfer facility operated by the Camara family, the same family that operates ABC Disposal, the city's trash contractor. Construction debris and other waste brought to the transfer facility from around the region will be used by Ze-gen for its test facility. The test facility will process 10 tons of construction and demolition debris per day.
 

Should the test prove effective, construction of a full-scale facility would create 150 construction jobs and 50 new permanent jobs. The full-scale facility would convert 450 tons of municipal solid waste, construction debris and used tires into enough synthetic gas to produce 38 megawatts of power per day. Eight megawatts would be used to power the facility, Mr. Davis said, leaving 30 megawatts — enough to power 24,000 homes — available to add to the power grid.
 

Massachusetts alone generates enough waste to power up to 60 full-scale facilities, with 3,000 jobs, generating 1,800 megawatts of renewable energy. That is enough energy to power 1.3 million homes.
 

According to Mr. Davis, Ze-gen's process of turning waste into energy is fundamentally different than traditional waste-to-energy plants, which incinerate trash and leave behind ash.
 

Ze-gen's process will use molten bath technology, in which the construction debris is introduced into metal that has been heated into a liquid form. One byproduct of the process will be synthetic gas, primarily carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which can be used to turn turbines in existing power plants. The other is called slag, which can be used in road construction. The plant has zero emissions, Mr. Davis said.
 

Mayor Scott W. Lang said the facility may herald the city's emergence as "a pioneer in alternative energy technology and facilities. ... This could be something that turns into jobs, clean energy and economic development for our city."
 

Other state and federal environmental officials who attended the ribbon-cutting said they believe Ze-gen's technology holds great promise. Among those attending Monday's ceremonies were state Sens. Mark C.W. Montigny and Joan Menard, state Reps. Antonio F.D. Cabral and Stephen R. Canessa, City Council President Leo R. Pimental and Ward 5 Councilor Jane L. Gonsalves.
 

David Cash, assistant secretary for Policy in the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, said Ze-gen's process "is an important experiment in using an innovative technology. ... We are eager to see the results of the test operations."
 

Monday's ribbon-cutting was attended by a number of local politicians and also groups of people interested in perhaps having a facility locate to their communities. Mr. Davis said people attending the ribbon-cutting came from as far away as Puerto Rico and Hawaii, as well as a group from Connecticut interested in possibly having a Ze-gen facility built in their community.
 

Founded in 2004, Ze-gen has spent the last three years designing its process, getting environmental approvals and finding investors. The Massachusetts Technology Development Corp., a quasi-state agency, invested $500,000 into Ze-gen. About $4.5 million in investment came from Flagship Ventures, a Boston-based firm, and VantagePoint Venture Partners, from California. Much of the remaining investment came from private venture capital firms and 22 individual investors — 10 of whom live in and around the city, Mr. Davis said.
 

We're at a moment of great optimism," said Walter J. Bird, vice president of the Massachusetts Technology Development Corp. The Ze-gen facility could serve to solve two serious problems: what to do with our trash, and where to find alternative sources of energy, he said.
 

"We have the ability to do something about these problems and make our state a winner, economically," he said.