The contractor today said it had finalised an agreement with specialist food waste plant operator, the Bedfordia Group, to invest in several new AD schemes.

Kier plans to plough £24m into the Biogen UK joint venture over the next few years.

Around £10m will be paid in stages for shares in the joint venture with the remaining cash scheduled to be invested in instalments over the next four years to finance new AD plants.

Paul Sheffield, chief executive of Kier Group, said: “We see significant potential in an attractive market for the development of the business in the coming years.”

John Ibbett, Chairman of Bedfordia Group, said: “We are very happy to be working with Kier, which shares Biogen’s strong company values.

“Part of Biogen’s long-term strategy has been to identify a partner with which we can develop the proven commercial viability of our own AD technology.

“The joint venture will now be able to expand its network of plants across the UK, making clean green energy from food waste available to more end-users.”