A revolutionary UK energy solution, which heats water using everything from nappies to plastics, Pringles containers and coffee cups to food, has gone out to trial.

HERU takes household items, which would have been destined for disposal, and heats them within the HERU in the absence of oxygen.

The resource becomes char, releasing oil and gas, which are captured.

The HERU cleans the oil, so it is safe to discharge and it utilises the gas and heat that’s been produced together with a domestic boiler.

The trials, which have been co-funded by Worcestershire County Council, will see the HERU tested at three distinct sites with three distinct types of ‘fuel’:

• Hillers Farm Shop – commercial food and packaging

• Rugby Borough Council – domestic housing resources

Wychavon District Council – office materials

The trial at Wychavon has now commenced, to be followed by units at Hillers Farm Shop and Rugby Borough Council.

Lasting approximately ten months, the units will be monitored remotely in real time, in order to assess progress around energy efficiency, usability and qualification criteria for the Renewable Heat Incentive for cardboard, paper, food and garden trimmings.

Nik Spencer, founder and inventor of the HERU, said: “After hundreds of hours of rigorous testing at our engineering facility, where we basically tried our best to break it and find its weak points, testing all materials produced in the home.

"It’s exciting to now test the HERU in real-life scenarios and the data and feedback we get from these trials will mean we can take the final steps in bringing this innovative product to market."

With financial support for the trials coming from Worcestershire County Council’s low carbon opportunities programme, Ruth Corrall, Programme Manager, said: “Our business support programme, funded by the European Regional Development Fund, aims to help innovators bring low carbon, clean technologies to market.

"We were therefore delighted to support the development of the HERU in its trial phase.

"We hope that the trials will be successful and to see this technology adopted in homes and businesses very soon.”

According to the company, a single cycle of the HERU produces a 30°C temperature rise for between 70 and 120 litres of water a day.