Displaying items by tag: Geminor

Iceland: Norway-based Geminor and recycling company Islenska Gamafélagid plan to raise their exports of refuse to 25,000t/yr and to begin exporting new fractions of refuse. This expansion builds on a collaboration launched by the companies in 2020 to redirect materials from Icelandic landfills to waste-to-energy plants elsewhere in Northern Europe.

Geminor’s senior operations associate Helga Eggertsdottir said “Europe – and therefore also Iceland – is phasing out landfill, and therefore Icelandic waste will need better sorting. Limited domestic capacity for recycled resources means that the need for export will increase. This growing stream is made possible due to the substantial capacity of returning container transport from Iceland. The alliance between Geminor and Islenska Gamafélagid will continue to leverage Icelandic ‘waste’ as a resource, optimising the environmental and economic benefits of recycling. This cooperation is therefore reinforcing the commitment of both companies for a more sustainable waste management industry.”

Finland: Norway-based Geminor inaugurated a new 150,000t/yr refuse-derived fuel (RDF) import facility at the Kilke Material Recycling Centre near Helsinki on 30 November 2023. The site is Geminor’s third such facility in Finland.

Country Manager Ismo Hiltunen said “Due to, among other things, lower activity in the construction industry, RDF fractions have become a scarce commodity in Finland.” He continued “After Finland became an import market for secondary fuels, the market has struggled to find processing sites for imported waste in Finland, a challenge this facility will now help to solve. The capacity of 150,000t/yr means that we could import up to 80% of Finland's current total RDF imports via this hub alone.”

UK: Geminor opened a new waste processing facility in Hull on 25 April 2023 in the presence of close to 100 guests. Kalvin Neal, the Deputy Lord Mayor of Kingston upon Hull, and Geminor chief executive officer Kjetil Vikingstad jointly cut the ribbon at the new HUB site, which can produce 150,000t/yr of refuse-derived fuel (RDF). Following the ceremony, guests were taken on a tour of the 11,000m² that was built by engineering company Keltbray. The unit in East Yorkshire had an investment of Euro11.3m. Most of the HUB facility will be used to service Geminor’s existing 68,000t/yr waste processing contract with Hull City Council, which currently runs to 2030.

The HUB site is equipped with the latest industry requirements and technology, such as an Exeons Odour Abatement system and a Helios Fire Suppression system, alongside plant vs people proximity sensors to ensure safety.

David Singh, the project manager for the Hull processing facility at Geminor UK, said "The journey has been incredible, from the point of sourcing land back in 2018 and all the way up to the opening ceremony. Brexit, Covid-19, and the somewhat significant weather conditions sometimes caused challenges, but not more than we could handle. We are well underway in commissioning the facility and look forward to operating in May 2023.”

Denmark: Norway-based Geminor has commissioned a new refuse-derived fuel (RDF) production plant in Aalborg, Jutland. The plant is equipped with a windshifter separator, allowing it to extract up to 70% of plastic in residual waste, in addition to metals and wood. This produces a heavy bio-RDF with low fossil content, of the type previously developed by the company at its HUB research facility in Landskrona, Sweden. Though more expensive to produce than other types of RDF, the company believes the fraction offers higher profitability due to its taxation benefits.

UK: Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and solid recovered fuel (SRF) exports from the UK were 1.6Mt in the financial year which ended on 31 March 2022, down by 2.3% year-on-year from 2021 financial year levels. Waste management consultant Footprint Services reported that March 2022 RDF and SRF exports were 136,000t, down by 23% year-on-year from 176,000t in March 2021. Geminor exported 29,200t of RDF and SRF during the month, constituting a 22% market share. Its full-year exports in the 2022 financial year were 280,000t.

Geminor UK country manager James Maiden forecast that the decline in UK RDF and SRF exports is beginning to level off at a volume between 1Mt/yr and 1.5Mt/yr from the 2023 financial year.

Norway: Geminor processed 67% of waste that it handled in 2021 into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and solid recovered fuel (SRF). The company said that the figure represents a 3% decline from 2020 levels. It handled a total of 1.73Mt of waste in nine European countries in 2021.

CEO Kjetil Vikingstad said “The Covid year 2021 has been another challenging year for the European waste industry in terms of volumes, logistics, transport and varying market mechanisms. The RDF market, in particular, has differed with lower volumes in circulation due to reduced exports from countries such as the UK and Finland. At the same time, other countries - such as Poland, Denmark, and Italy - have experienced growth, which has helped obtain a balance in the market.”

Norway: Geminor has signed a contract with Renovasjon i Grenland to handle and treat 7000t/yr of municipal solid waste (MSW) for two years to 2023 with an option to extend to 2026. The MSW will be transported to Geminor's partner in the project, Bjorstaddalen Næring. This company will process the waste at its Skien plant in Telemark. The plant uses robotic sorters that can perform up to 6000 picks/hr. The unit also uses ‘unique’ sensor technology that enable shape, colour and material identification. This system can also be taught to recognise new fractions.

Bjorstaddalen Næring chief executive officer Sindre Hauen said “Better sorting means better use of materials.” He added “In case of new market opportunities - or even regulations - the system can be taught to recognise new fractions. We want to be in front when it comes to robot sorting, and are constantly looking for better solutions in our waste management.”

Denmark: Norway-based Geminor has established a solid recovered fuel (SRF) production line with a capacity over 40,000t/yr at its Hub waste processing plant in Aalborg. The line will shred and mix municipal solid waste from the region. Geminor will supply 120,000t of SRF to Aalborg Portland Cement over a three year period starting from January 2021. The line includes a chain feeding conveyor supplied by Westeria, a Metso 4000-8 pre-shredder, a Steinert magnetic sorter and a Metso 3550 fine shredder. Aalborg Portland Cement is targeting a 75% SRF substitution rate at its Aalborg cement plant over the period.

France: Norway-based Geminor subsidiary Geminor France has dispatched a truckload of solid recovered fuel (SRF) to a cement plant in Spain. The SRF is made from wood and textile foam from used furniture. The company says that the delivery is the first of continual 100t/week of exports to the producer. It is also exporting waste-derived fuels from France to other countries in Europe including Denmark.

Senior account and development manager Kai Schöpwinkel said, “There is a positive development at the moment in regards to better collecting and sorting of French waste. Now there is a focus on increasing the combustion capacity for energy recovery, and new waste-to-energy plants are being developed. Stricter requirements from the Government and the European Union (EU) also give incentives to develop high-quality fractions such as SRF based on furniture. The goal is to reduce landfill by 50% by the end of 2025, which will also make France into a growing market for export.” He added, “Covid-19 is leading to a waste deficit in the European market, which is now contributing to the opening of new waste streams from France. We believe this is just the beginning of a growing waste export from this country.”

Norway: Synthetic fuel producer and chemical waste management specialist Quantafuel has bought a 40% stake in Geminor from Geminor Invest. The owners of Geminor Invest, chief executive officer (CEO) Kjetil Vikingstad and chief operation officer (COO) Ralf Schöpwinkel, will retain a 60% share of Geminor.

Vikingstad said “With Quantafuel as a partner we hope to achieve our goal of becoming a leading player in material recycling and energy recovery in Europe. In collaboration with Quantafuel we want to increase the proportion of plastic for material recycling, and by this actively contribute to a circular economy for plastics in Europe.” He added, “Together, the companies form a value chain from the collection, sorting and treatment of plastic waste all the way to the process of chemical recycling. Plastic will now become more important for Geminor, but the company also has a clear strategy to develop fractions and streams within waste wood, refuse-derived fuel (RDF), solid recovered fuel (SRF) and paper.” He said that the company will continue to develop more sustainable waste fractions and extract more waste plastic for chemical recycling.

Geminor Invest chair Arne Haldorsen said “The international community has major challenges within waste management, especially when it comes to handling ever-increasing amounts of plastic waste. To meet these challenges the waste industry is becoming more industrialised, and new recycling solutions are currently being developed internationally. Geminor wants to be a key player in this process, something we hope to achieve with Quantafuel as a partner and co-owner.”