Mexico City’s Hydrothermal Carbonization Plant to Open in May

Mexico City’s newest Hydrothermal Carbonization Plant will process tons of trash annually, explains the city’s government, which also deemed the plant one of the most advanced in the world. The plant is part of a joint effort between Mexico and the US to advance the energy transition. 

Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo highlights that the plant is “a technological revolution” and that her government seeks to promote projects that work "with science and conscience," according to a Mexico City government press release. 

US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar visited the Hydrothermal Carbonization Plant alongside Sheinbaum, who explained that the plant will convert up to 72 tons of organic waste into biochar while promoting renewable energies and the energy transition. The plant can also process 25 tons of dry organic matter. 

The plant transforms organic waste into electricity and charcoal pellets with zero greenhouse gas emissions, explained the Mexico City government via a press release. 

The Zero Waste axis of the Environmental and Climate Change Program in Mexico City has been the main promoter of this project, for which the government allocated MX$300 million (US$16.6 million) in the first phase. Salazar highlighted that the plant is a “technological innovation” that could be replicated in US cities such as Denver, New York, San Francisco and Houston.

Sheinbaum highlighted the collaboration between her administration, the US and Mexican governments in pursuing projects that reduce polluting emissions and in the promotion of projects focused on the environment. 

The project is one of Mexico City’s Sustainable City initiatives and part of the state government’s quest to neutralize trash with proper systems to reduce the city’s carbon footprint.