Altalto: Turning Waste Into Fuel

Velocys selected Bechtel to lead the front-end engineering and design (FEED) study for the proposed Altalto Immingham plant, one of the most advanced waste-to-SAF projects in the world. The project is a joint development between Velocys and British Airways, supported by a £27 million grant from the U.K. Department for Transport’s Advanced Fuels Fund.

The plant was designed to convert residual household and commercial waste — material that would otherwise go to the landfill — into jet fuel using Velocys’ Fischer-Tropsch technology.

At full capacity, the plant was engineered to produce approximately 20 million gallons (80 million liters) of SAF per year, with net negative carbon emissions. That’s enough SAF to power 1,000 flights from London to New York annually, saving 350,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 150% compared to conventional jet fuel.

The process combines green hydrogen, produced by electrolysis using renewable power, with carbon dioxide captured from a local waste-to-energy power station through a reverse water-gas shift process to make syngas — a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The syngas is then converted into liquid fuels using Velocys’ proprietary Fischer-Tropsch gas-to-liquid technology. The result is a low-carbon SAF made from captured emissions and clean electricity, with no new carbon introduced into the process.

Bechtel’s pre-FEED assessed the feasibility and technical requirements to make SAF at the plant, including producing an early-stage cost estimate. This critical work determines if the technology is viable at scale.

At full capacity, e-Alto has the potential to produce approximately 500 barrels of SAF per day — helping avoid nearly 70,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. 

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Safely Decommissioning a 1950s Nuclear Waste Storage Facility

Known as one of the four most hazardous buildings in Western Europe, the Sellafield Pile Fuel Cladding Silo (PFCS) was commissioned in 1952 to safely store radioactive cladding – pieces of metal tubes used for uranium fuel rods in some of the UK’s earliest nuclear reactors. The UK government has partnered with Bechtel Cavendish Nuclear Solutions to deliver a system that will allow Sellafield to retrieve the decades-old waste, package it safely, and dispose of it permanently. 

The project is part of a UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority program to decommission nuclear storage facilities dating to the early 1950s.

The project entails the detailed design, procurement, manufacture, works testing, delivery to site, installation and commissioning of a complex system for cutting access holes into the silo that include shielded access doors, a robotic waste retrieval arm, waste transporters, and repackaging plants. The team also is utilizing virtual reality and mockup training facilities to enhance operations.

Inside the Project

The Pile Fuel Cladding Silo was at capacity by 1964. Since then, the facility has been safely storing radioactive cladding from military projects and later power plants, as well as other hazardous debris.

• A waste retrieval unit with a remote-operated “grabber” arm will extend and lower into each compartment, retrieving the waste and packaging it in secure containers for final disposal.
• The more than 60-foot-tall silo has six compartments and holds more than 3,200 cubic meters (4,200 cubic yards) of intermediate-level waste.
• Upgrade work completed in the 1990s made it possible for this silo and other structures to continue storing waste safely.
• The project team engineered a way to cut openings and install doors at the top of the silo’s storage compartments while maintaining an airtight seal to reduce the threat of a spontaneous fire within.

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Transforming London’s Rail Network

Construction of the Elizabeth Line was one of the largest projects ever undertaken in the United Kingdom – a 100km-plus railway that unites areas in the east and west of London with 10 new stations, 31 station upgrades, and 42km of tunnels under the capital. The railway opened on May 24, 2022. Bechtel supported Crossrail’s management of the project and Network Rail’s management of the extensive upgrades to the existing rail network to make it compatible with the new line.

The Elizabeth Line has boosted central London’s rail capacity and is one of the most reliable railways in the U.K. It also has the fastest growing ridership with more than 350 million passenger journeys in its first two years of service. 

The railway has unlocked new travel opportunities, supported regeneration across London — including enhanced housing and social mobility — and contributed an estimated £42 billion to the U.K. economy.

A 21^st Century Marvel

30

Years

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The Elizabeth Line is London’s first full new underground line in more than 30 years.

1.5M

People

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With this project, 1.5M more people can travel to central London within 45 minutes.

40

Stations Served

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The Elizabeth Line serves 40 stations, including eight new subsurface stations and two new above-ground stations.

700K

Passenger Journeys

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200-meter-long trains move an average of 700,000 passengers every weekday.

Game-Changer

The Elizabeth line has been a game-changer for our city, transforming travel across London and the South East and delivering a £42bn boost to the UK economy. In just two years, more than 350 million journeys have been made and the line has directly impacted the development of 55,000 new homes and significantly supported employment growth. The Elizabeth line has played a vital role in our recovery from the pandemic and is helping to build a fairer, greener and more prosperous London for everyone.

Sadiq Khan

Mayor of London

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan visited a worksite in 2016 to celebrate progress, escorted by a Bechtel project manager. Photo credit: James O’Jenkins

New Standards of Construction Sustainability

• 96% of all Crossrail contracts were awarded to companies within the U.K.
• An estimated 75,000 new business opportunities were created — enough to support 55,000 full time jobs.
• 62% of Tier 1 contracts were won by small- and medium-sized businesses.
• More than 4,500 job starts by local or previously unemployed people.
• More than 7 million tonnes of excavated material was beneficially reused to create a nature reserves and breathe new life into recreational facilities, agricultural and industrial land.

Innovating to Improve Construction for the Long-Term

The project was the U.K.’s first infrastructure project to adopt strict emissions controls across all of its work sites. It also introduced newer, cleaner machines across London, and encouraged suppliers to upgrade their equipment to benefit the industry for the long-term.

Crossrail piloted hybrid diesel-electric excavators, hydrogen fuel cell-powered lighting and noise monitoring stations, and used LED lighting to reduce energy consumption.

Through a combination of new engine performance standards, retrofitting of particulate controls, hybrid technologies and training, Crossrail significantly reduced particulate emissions across some 40 construction sites.

Sustainability Benchmarking

The Elizabeth Line was one of the U.K.’s first major construction projects to closely monitor environmental outcomes. Now complete, the railway is forecast to save up to 225,000 tonnes of CO2 every year for its estimated 120 years in operation. 

Royal Visits

The Bechtel Team received the Global Project Controls Megaproject of the Year award.

Bechtel, Crossrail, and Transcend representatives received the Best Infrastructure Award at Institution of Civil Engineers’ London.

In 2024, the Elizabeth Line won the U.K.’s most prestigious architecture prize, the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) Stirling Prize.

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Bolstering the U.K.’s Leadership in Offshore Wind Generation

With demand for clean energy growing globally, wind will be a critical component of reaching net zero targets.

In the U.K., the government has set a goal to generate 40GW of offshore wind power by 2030. Hexicon, a Swedish floating windfarm developer, is focused on delivering game-changing large-scale offshore floating wind projects along the British coastline and abroad as part of its mission to deliver cost-effective and reliable electricity and build a sustainable future.

Bechtel is supporting Hexicon to develop TwinHub, a 35-40 MW demonstration floating wind project, with the aim of establishing how the technology can be brought to market.

Game-changing Technology

TwinHub will utilize Hexicon’s technology, TwinWind, a floating foundation that hosts two wind turbines and weathervanes around a single mooring point.

Current-day offshore wind farms rely on shallow platforms that are fixed to the seabed, but floating foundations enable wind farms to be positioned farther offshore, reducing visual and environmental impacts and improving wind conditions. The design also allows for increased energy yield per acreage because more turbines can be deployed per sea area since the foundation is aligned with the wind rather than the turbine.

The technology also reduces the costs of cabling, steel, installations, and maintenance, requiring less investment for the same amount of output and increasing investor returns.

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Creating Digital Connectivity for 8 Million U.K. Homes

Digital infrastructure is key to opening access and opportunity by building a smarter, more connected, more equitable, and sustainable world.

CityFibre is working to unlock the digital potential of communities across the U.K. by building a full fibre network that supports quicker and more reliable broadband connections. By the end of 2025, Bechtel will have helped CityFibre achieve its goal to reach one-third of the U.K. market.

In addition to its own £4 billion roll out programme—which will cover 285 cities, towns and villages, reaching 8 million homes, 800,000 businesses, 250,000 small-cell access points, and 400,000 public sector buildings such as schools and hospitals—CityFibre is also supporting in the U.K. government’s Build Digital U.K. (BDUK) Agency’s “Project Gigabit,” which is a £5 billion investment programme that seeks to deliver lightning-fast, reliable broadband to homes and business in rural areas across the U.K. This will allow CityFibre to extend its network to rural areas around the 285 cities in its own programme and support the U.K. government’s agenda to level up communities across the U.K.   

Listen as Richard Thorpe, CityFibre’s chief delivery officer, discusses the rollout, and follow CityFibre’s progress.

Learn more about the CityFibre Rollout

It’s a pleasure to be extending our alliance with Bechtel

after a hugely successful year as partners. Over the last twelve months, they have worked in lockstep with our teams to deliver an extraordinary acceleration of our rollout. This pace will only increase as we commence new projects and maximise the productivity of each build. We’re delighted that Bechtel, with their unparalleled experience of complex, scaled construction projects, will be working alongside us in the years ahead as we continue to build the U.K.’s finest Full Fibre infrastructure platform.”

Greg Mesch

CEO of CityFibre

Collaboration

Bechtel’s engagement with CityFibre began in 2020 and was expanded and extended in 2021 to help scale the rollout, while continuing to deliver at pace, in line with CityFibre’s ambition.

Our people are fully integrated into CityFibre’s organization, leveraging Bechtel’s mega-project expertise in project controls, contracts management, and environment, safety, and health with focused leadership and construction management in the areas with the greatest density of parallel builds. Bechtel’s team is also providing functional support across all regions as well as developing resource models to ensure thousands more operatives are trained and available to build partners to help construct the network.  

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A Greener, Quieter, More Reliable Railway

The Great Western Electrification Program is part of the biggest investment in the Great Western mainline since Brunel built it more than 150 years ago. Electrifying Britain’s oldest and busiest railway will make it greener, quieter and more reliable for people, as well as increasing capacity with five new fleets of trains.

Bechtel is part of an integrated management team with Network Rail, the organization responsible for the UK’s rail network. The work that the team is delivering includes:

• Electrification of the main line from London to Swansea, Didcot to Oxford, Reading to Newbury and Thames Valley branches
• Train introduction works – gauging, platform extensions 

Tackling a Challenge

It’s a huge challenge to transform the performance of our railway while still providing a great service to the four-and-a-half million people that use it every day.”

Mark Carne

CEO, Network Rail

Fast Facts

The project covered 247 miles of electrification—nearly as far as London to Paris (288 miles) and about the same as the whole London Underground network (250 miles).

Connecting People

The Great Western route links a number of important towns and cities – from London to Oxford, Bristol, Exeter and Swansea.
 
The route includes three of the five most overcrowded services in the UK, operating at around 160 percent of capacity. Network Rail forecasts major growth, particularly around London Paddington and Bristol, where passenger numbers are predicted to increase by 51 percent and 41 percent respectively, in 10 years. Demand for freight is also predicted to rise by 20 percent nationally.

Going Electric

• Electric trains are lighter and cause less wear to the track 
• Electric trains cause 20-35% lower carbon emissions
• Electric trains have more seats than diesel trains of the same length
• Journey times can be shortened due to the superior performance of electric traction

Looking After Passengers

Completing engineering work safely, on time, without causing unnecessary delays to the travelling public are our priorities. In fact, all of our 52 rail commissions have been handed back on time with no impact on passenger or freight services.
 
In winter 2015, the biggest ever single program of Network Rail works was successfully delivered, with all the railways handed back to train operating companies on time.

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The Vauxhall Underground Station modernization exemplifies Transport for London’s investment in projects that support economic growth, employment opportunities, and housing development in London’s Vauxhall, Nine Elms, and Battersea areas.

Transport for London and Bechtel have previously worked together on such London Underground projects as the Jubilee Line Extension, the Northern Line upgrade, and Green Park Tube Station.

We saved Transport for London about one-fifth the project cost (nearly $15 million) by proposing an innovative way to construct the new elevator shaft from below ground level and using sprayed-concrete-lining techniques. This approach not only cut construction costs but also yielded savings in utility diversions and lessened environmental impact.

The project won Renovation/Upgrading Project of the Year in the International Tunnelling Association Tunnelling Awards in 2016.

Our Vauxhall Project Team is at Work 

• Installed a new shaft and elevator between the ticket hall and platforms, providing passengers step-free access to the Victoria Underground line trains.
• Reconfigured the station’s ticket hall to accommodate extra ticket gates and wide-aisle gates
• We are completing the refurbishment of the station’s subways, ticket hall, and stairs

Learn More

Contract awarded for major construction work to increase Vauxhall Tube station capacity and make it step free, Transport for London press release, May 2013

Vauxhall Underground Station Upgrade, London, United Kingdom, Railway-technology.com

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Biggest Track Change in 100 Years of UK Rail, Completed on Time and Within Budget

Bechtel and Network Rail have successfully completed the massive expansion of Reading Station—one of the busiest stations outside London—on schedule and within budget. The work was carried out over four years as a major part of the $1.5 billion Reading Station Area Redevelopment program. The track layout outside Reading station has been improved to ease congestion, and the station’s capacity has been doubled allowing it to cater for up to 30 million passengers a year, which is forecast by 2030. The new station was formally opened on 17th July 2014 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Track Change

In Reading, an hour west of London, Bechtel and its customer, Network Rail, safely compressed 40 days of track, signaling, and station upgrade work into just 10 days, minimizing disruption and saving money. It was the biggest track layout change in more than a century, and it relieved one of the worst railroad bottlenecks in the UK.

“This project was complex given that we were working on an operational rail system. However, careful planning and dedication ensured that we were able to get the job done right, safely,” said Bechtel’s global rail sector lead, Ailie MacAdam. “Collaboration between Network Rail, train operators, passengers, and other stakeholders was essential to the success of Reading Station’s transformation.”

Key Milestones

The work was completed in 2015, and all major milestones were delivered to or ahead of schedule including:

Main Line Grade Separation

West Country Grade Separation

Construction Complete

New Depot Made Operational

Improved Station Capacity

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Helping Transform UK Defence Equipment & Support Organisation

The UK Ministry of Defence selected Bechtel to help create more effective project management, project controls, and supply chain management processes for the defence equipment and support functions. Across the defence procurement system, we are working together to improve performance as well as train the 12,000-person Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) team.

Bechtel is introducing new skills, tools, and systems to DE&S to help the team manage equipment contracts more effectively and efficiently. From its Bristol headquarters, DE&S manages procurement and in-service support contracts for the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.

Driving Improvement

Bechtel is installing a new metrics system and training the DE&S team to help manage procurement contracts more efficiently. DE&S manages procurement contracts for the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force at Abbey Wood, the largest MOD site in Britain. This 400,000-square-meter site is located in Bristol.

Enhancing National Security

Bechtel’s improvements to the Fleet and Air portfolios will help the British Armed Forces deliver the UK defence vision by protecting national interest, providing the nation with choice in times of crisis, and maximising the return on public investment.

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