Displaying items by tag: UK

UK: N+P has expanded its footprint in Northeast England through the acquisition of Niramax Group. Niramax Group operates a 300,000t/yr solid recovered fuel (SRF) plant in Hartlepool, County Durham. The newly acquired subsidiary will henceforth operate as N+P Hartlepool MRF. N+P already operates a Subcoal SRF plant in nearby Stockton-on-Tees. It aims to increase its total number of plants to 15 from five across the UK and the Netherlands by 2028.

Chief executive officer Karel Jennissen said “We are delighted to have completed this acquisition and look forward to welcoming the workforce to the N+P family. This site is part of a pipeline of acquisitions being undertaken that began with Crayford MRF last year, the largest recycling plant in the UK, and this is a key part of our growth strategy alongside building new greenfield operations. In addition to its existing activities, Hartlepool will become a hub for N+P’s research and development, which will aim to deliver further innovations to the waste market in order to improve the environmental outcomes of waste treatment and further improve recycling rates.”

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.”

UK: Mexico-based Cemex has inaugurated the Climafuel unit at Rugby cement plant. Climafuel is a waste derived fuel which is made using domestic and commercial waste. The upgrade is intended to allow the cement plant to operate at a 100% alternative fuels (AF) substitution rate. This is the first Cemex plant to be able to do this.

Sergio Menéndez, the President of Cemex Europe, Middle East, Africa & Asia, said, “With the completion of this considerable development, we have set new records in alternative fuel substitution, the highest of any of our plants and eventually expect to phase out completely the usage of fossil fuels at the plant. We expect the Rugby plant to be a model for other Cemex cement plants around the world.”

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.”

UK: Netherlands-based N+P has acquired the Crayford Material Recycling Facility (MRF) in South-East London from Viridor for an undisclosed sum. The facility processes 330,000t/yr of dry mixed recyclables from Greater London, the South and South-East of the UK. It employs 260 people.

This is the third acquisition by N+P since it started a strategic partnership with commodities trading company Mercuria in April 2021 and more are planned. N+P has invested Euro90m in the UK in 2021 and it plans to invest the same amount in 2022. This is part of the company’s overall Euro239m investment between 2021 and 2022. The key driver of this expansion is to accelerate the production of N+P’s alternative fuel product Subcoal. N+P plans to increase throughput at Crayford to 500,000t/yr and it wants to add 13 alternative fuel production plants to its operations in Europe by 2026, producing over 5Mt/yr of alternative fuels per year.

“N+P’s rationale for acquiring the London location is driven by the company’s desire to expand production in locations throughout the UK and diversify its activities. Ultimately, having both an alternative fuel production location as well as a MRF operation at the same location optimises the complete value chain for waste. N+P believes the non-recyclable waste fraction can play a significant role in the transition to cleaner future proof energy sources,” said Stijn Jennissen, the chief commercial officer at N+P.

UK: The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has announced the successful completion of a trial of cement production using a net-zero fuel mix consisting of hydrogen and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) at Hanson’s Ribblesdale, Lancashire, cement plant. The RDF in the mix consists of meat and bone meal (MBM) from the food industry and glycerol from biodiesel production.

Increased alternative fuel (AF) substitution is one of seven key levers in the MPA’s Roadmap Beyond Net Zero emissions reduction strategy. The association says that the fuel will eliminate 180,000t/yr of CO₂ emissions from the Ribblesdale plant’s operations when fully implemented. The project received Euro3.71m in government funding.

Hanson’s environmental sustainability manager Iain Walpole said “We are delighted to be involved with this world-leading project, which is a further example of our commitment to cutting CO₂ emissions.” He added “It will also contribute to our ambition of supplying net zero carbon concrete by 2050.”

UK: Andusia has exported 1.6Mt of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and solid-recovered fuel (SRF) since its foundation in early 2012. The company said that the waste has not only been diverted from UK landfill but has generated power for people in northern mainland Europe. Exports rose following the lift of Covid-19 trade restrictions. Andusia added that it has since then secured several new contracts.

Spain: UK-based Andusia has successfully completed its first delivery of solid recovered fuel (SRF) from its Beaupark Associated Waste Management SRF plant in Leeds, West Yorkshire to a cement plant in Spain. The supplier says that the delivery marks the start of the supply of 5000t/yr to the plant. The fuel will replace a portion of the coal and petcoke in the plant’s kiln line.

UK: Andusia says that a Covid-19 decline in waste produced by the UK is at an end, and has predicted the start of growth in the near term future. The waste management company said that major factors for growth will be the continuation of office work, the end of hospitality restrictions and the recovery of public confidence in consumption.

In 2020, commercial and industrial waste generation fell by 50% year-on-year, while municipal waste rose by 20%. Exports of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) fell by 37% during the year.