A deal secured for the supply of oxygen to the world’s first commercially viable ‘domestic waste to biogas’ plant will result in gas made with household rubbish heating homes and powering lorries in the UK from the end of next year.

Air Liquide will provide high-purity oxygen to the Advanced Plasma Power and National Grid facility in Wiltshire for five years; the plant will use the gas and 10,000 tonnes of rubbish from the area to create bio-substitute natural gas, which emits 80% less CO₂ than diesel.

The developers say that this technology could generate 100TWhr (terawatt hr) of energy a year if used nation-wide, meeting a third of the country’s heating requirements or powering all of its heavy goods vehicles, adding that the new facility will be a major step forward in “de-carbonising the energy system”.

Transport minister John Hayes said: “Biofuels have an important role to play in keeping Britain moving and will deliver cleaner and greener fuels. Thanks to our £11 million investment, this Swindon plant will help make significant carbon savings and deliver a boost to the technology.”

Philippa Oldham, head of transport and manufacturing at the IMechE, said: “First-generation biofuels — made from sugars and oils from crops — have been criticised for taking up large areas of land, reducing bio-diversity and using plants that would otherwise have been food.

“Second-generation biofuels, including the gas from household waste, could lead to wider acceptance for the sector.”