Background In Poland, volumes of solid waste and sewage sludge are increasing, and landfilling is the most common approach to waste management, accounting for 80% of waste disposal. Both municipal solid waste and sewage sludge, however, have high energy recovery potential and according to the EU Directives 2006/12/EC or 1999/31/EC, municipal solid waste and sewage sludge should be minimised, re-used, recycled or incinerated with energy recovery – before disposal to landfill sites. Other EU countries, such as Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium have made good progress in this area. Poland has introduced a ban on the storage of waste with a calorific value above 6MJ/kg and the Polish National Waste Management Plan (2010) requires the complete phasing out of sewage sludge storage from 2013. Implementation of this plan is difficult for small and medium size municipalities, where the volume of waste and sewage sludge is too small to warrant the construction of a waste incinerator. A potential solution is small-scale dispersed energy generation from local sources. Objectives The overall objective of the LIFE COGENERATION PL project is to demonstrate the operation of an innovative technology for managing the energy fraction of municipal waste and sewage sludge. The technology consists of a unique gasification process and a highly efficient system for the production (cogeneration) of electricity and heat. Gasification is a method of producing gas by subjecting certain materials to high temperatures (>700°C), without combustion, with a controlled amount of oxygen and/or steam. This gas is then used as a fuel. The specific objectives are to: Construct a pilot-scale prototype demonstration plant that integrates five technological units: fuel preparation, gasification, syngas purification, syngas combustion, the production of electricity and heat, and exhaust gases purification. The plant, which will use technology developed by the project, will have the potential for application on an industrial scale, with the following parameters: electric power output of 1.8 MW, thermal output of 5 MW and a capacity of 20 000 Mg/year; Test and validate the technology at the demonstration scale in order to verify assumed specifications and functionality. Expected results: The prototype plant will have a maximum processing capacity of 25 000 tonnes of waste per year, generating the following amounts of energy: Fuel with energy potential of 1.3 MW; Electric power: 180 kWh; Thermal power: 250 kWh.