According to project's developers, Energy Development, the culprit this time was the accidental entry of water into the char gasifier, which damaged a number of internal components.

Energy Development considers a successful completion of the testing of the char gasifier as a key milestone for the company to achieve in order to win the approval of the markets.

Several attempts were made at short-term repairs. However, these were unsuccessful and it was decided to transport the char gasifier to another facility for repairs or modifications, and "this will of course take additional time," the company said.

"Given the status of the char gasifier, the company has decided to separately progress the performance testing of the other components of the SWERF plant from the char gasifier," Energy Development said.

"This should facilitate earlier operation of the plant while the issues with the char gasifier are resolved."