TITAN invest in former Fiddler’s Ferry power station
Company to build and operate brand-new ponded fly ash processing and beneficiating facility
TITAN Group are to build and operate a state-of-the-art processing and beneficiating facility for ponded fly ash at the former Fiddler’s Ferry power station, near Warrington, Cheshire, following an agreement with PEEL NRE, part of PEEL Group, a privately held UK infrastructure and property investment company. The new facility is expected to become operational by the first quarter of 2027.
Jean-Philippe Benard, head of cementitious and executive committee member at TITAN Group, said: ‘This project is a major step forward in implementing our growth strategy. Expanding our alternative cementitious business, we are enhancing the sustainability of the construction sector.
‘We are also meeting the growing demand for innovative, high-performance building materials, leveraging the proprietary technology of our company, ST Equipment & Technology. We are very pleased with our long-term partnership with PEEL, which will deliver value to the environment, our customers, and the neighbouring communities.’
PEEL Group say the long-term agreement to extract and process the ash from the lagoons will allow them to secure a safe, accessible landform to support the progressive long-term restoration of the site while providing ecological and recreational enhancements.
Kieran Tames, director and head of Peel NRE, said: ‘We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with TITAN, which follows years of hard work fully evaluating the potential to transform the waste ash material from the power station directly into a low-carbon construction product.
‘This agreement has the potential to accelerate the recovery of waste ash from the lagoons, enabling their restoration and enhancement as envisaged by the Development Framework that was approved by the local authority last year. Through our partnership, existing customers will continue to source ash from the site, ensuring continuity of supply for their applications.’
The facility will be able to process 300,000 tonnes of wet fly ash annually, starting in 2027, with the potential to double this capacity. The processed fly ash will meet the BS EN 450 standard that ensures the quality and consistency of fly ash when used as a pozzolanic addition to cement or concrete mixtures.
TITAN will leverage the advanced proprietary processing capabilities and expertise of ST Equipment & Technology, part of TITAN Group, to transform the ponded fly ash into a consistent, concrete-grade product, offering substantial improvements over current lagoon extraction methods.
Unlike unprocessed materials, which are unsuitable for high-value applications, TITAN’s processed fly ash will serve as a high-performance supplementary cementitious material for concrete production.
TITAN say the use of processed fly ash will contribute significantly to reducing carbon emissions from the cement industry, lowering reliance on virgin raw materials, and supporting the circular economy. The fly ash deposits at Fiddlers Ferry can be processed for use in cement, concrete, and autoclaved aerated concrete blocks.
During the course of the contract period, there will be substantial environmental and economic benefits, including:
Avoiding approximately 7.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions (equivalent to removing 220,000 cars annually from UK roads)
Saving around 16 million tonnes of virgin raw materials
Reducing the need for 10 million tonnes of imported supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs)
Generating an initial investment of around £20 million
Creating approximately 100 direct and indirect jobs
Increasing tax revenues for local councils.
