What is independent technology evaluation?
Independent technology evaluation is a structured engineering assessment of the technologies competing to solve a problem — carried out by a firm that does not sell or manufacture any of them. Instead of accepting a vendor's claims, WES screens the candidates, scores them on weighted engineering criteria against your feedstock, site, regulations and goals, and documents the trade-offs so you can select on evidence rather than on a sales pitch.
How do you keep the evaluation vendor-neutral?
WES is an independent engineering and consulting firm — not a plant manufacturer, technology licensor or EPC contractor. WES does not sell or manufacture any of the technologies it evaluates and earns nothing from which one is chosen, so there is no incentive to favor a particular vendor. Every candidate is measured against the same published, weighted criteria, which keeps the comparison objective and repeatable.
What criteria do you score technologies against?
The criteria are weighted to your project, but typically include technical fit to the feedstock or waste stream, process maturity and reference operating history, expected performance and availability, capital and operating cost, environmental and regulatory compliance, site and infrastructure requirements, reliability and maintainability, and technology and vendor risk. Weighting the criteria to your priorities is part of the work, and the resulting scoring matrix is transparent so you can see exactly why one option ranks above another.
How does this differ from a feasibility study?
A technology evaluation answers "which technology is the right one" by comparing and scoring the options against each other. A feasibility study answers "does this project work" — the technical and economic viability of a chosen approach on a specific site. The two are complementary: technology evaluation often narrows the field to a preferred option, which a feasibility study then tests in depth.
Can you review a technology a vendor has already proposed to us?
Yes. Technical due diligence on a proposal already on the table is a core part of this service. WES reviews the vendor's technology, performance claims, guarantees and assumptions against your actual feedstock, site and regulatory context — before capital is committed — and tells you objectively whether the proposed technology is the right fit, what the risks are, and whether a different option would serve you better.
What deliverables do we receive?
Typical deliverables include a technology screening with a long-list and short-list, a weighted decision and scoring matrix, a technology comparison report, a technical due-diligence review of a vendor or proposal where relevant, a trade-off analysis against feedstock, site, regulations and project goals, a risk assessment, and a documented technology recommendation. The exact set is scoped to your decision.
When in the project should technology be evaluated?
As early as possible — ideally before a technology is selected and long before an EPC contract is signed, when changing direction is still inexpensive. Evaluating the options early prevents a costly technology mismatch. That said, an independent evaluation is still valuable later: if a vendor has already proposed a technology, WES can review that choice as technical due diligence before you commit.
Do you recommend a single technology, or a ranked set of options?
Both. WES delivers a documented recommendation of the preferred technology, but supported by the full scoring matrix and a ranked short-list, so you see how each option performed and why. Where two options are close, the report makes the trade-offs explicit rather than hiding them behind a single answer, so the decision remains yours and is defensible to stakeholders, boards and lenders.
Which industries and technologies can WES evaluate?
WES evaluates technologies across waste-to-energy, chemical, pharmaceutical, oil and gas, utilities, manufacturing, and water and wastewater. In waste-to-energy that includes gasification, anaerobic digestion, refuse-derived fuel, mass burn and energy recovery. The evaluation method — weighted, criteria-based scoring against your feedstock, site and goals — is the same regardless of sector.
