The pioneering £400m plant will be the largest facility of its kind built in the world and will be located next to the North Tees Chemical Complex near Billingham.
The facility will provide renewable electricity for up to 50,000 homes and create up to 700 jobs during its construction.
It will divert up to 350,000 metric tons of non-recyclable waste from landfill per year and in the longer term generate a renewable source of hydrogen for commercial use.
The gasification process sees waste superheated with little or no oxygen to produce syngas, which can be used to generate energy or produce hydrogen.