MVK won over by the convincing and sustainable concept
Müllverbrennung Kiel GmbH & Co. KG (MVK) and its project partner REMONDIS, Region North are planning to set up a sewage sludge incineration plant with an integrated phosphorus recovery system. The partners presented their joint project on 23 September 2021. Prior to this, REMONDIS regional managing directors Wolfgang Steen, Georg Jungen and Matthias Hartung had worked with Ralf Czarnecki, managing director of REMONDIS Aqua Stoffstrommanagement, to draw up a convincing and sustainable concept, with which – after several years of extremely constructive negotiations – they won over MVK managing directors, Dr Frank Ehlers and Daniel Benedict.
Part of the Green Deal
“This lighthouse project will ensure that the municipal sewage sludge in Kiel will soon be treated using a net zero process and that the energy produced from this process will be able to be fed into Kiel’s network as district heat,” commented the mayor of Kiel, Dr Ulf Kämpfer, during the signing of the contracts. Together, the shareholders – the City of Kiel and REMONDIS GmbH & Co. KG, Region North – intend to invest 80 million euros. Kiel council passed a unanimous resolution approving the project in August 2021. “Besides providing a supply of green district heat, this plant will also be reusing the water recovered during the sludge pre-treatment stage in its own operations – a further step towards protecting the environment and tackling climate change. This project is being supported by the EU LIFE programme as part of the European Union’s Green Deal,” the mayor of Kiel continued, whose city actively promotes climate action.
MVK’s managing director, Dr Frank Ehlers, Sabine Schirdewahn, plant manager at Kiel’s Eigenbetrieb Beteiligungen, Wolfgang Steen, managing director of REMONDIS, Region North, and the mayor of Kiel, Dr Ulf Kämpfer, were delighted to be able to sign the contract for a new sewage sludge incineration plant and phosphorus recovery facility
The partnership will act as a model across the country
“We have been a shareholder in Kiel’s waste incineration plant for over 20 years now and our work with the City of Kiel has always been both very good and successful,” explained Wolfgang Steen, managing director of REMONDIS GmbH & Co. KG, Region North. “Which is why we are particularly pleased that we will not only be building and operating the sewage sludge incineration plant together but also Germany’s second phosphorus recovery facility. We have been committed to Kiel for many years and this long-term contract – which covers a term of 20 years plus the option to extend – further reinforces this commitment. This partnership with the City of Kiel is a model for REMONDIS across the country.”
The legislator has made it mandatory for phosphorus to be recovered from 2029 onwards. Kiel is setting the course for this right now.
Wolfgang Steen continued: “It is REMONDIS’ mission to generate recyclable materials from every single gram of waste. With this in mind, we’ve been working on the important task of recovering phosphorus – a vital substance and finite raw material – from sewage sludge for many years now so that it can be returned to production cycles. This pioneering project in Kiel will be using the TetraPhos® process, which was developed by REMONDIS itself. This is a perfect fit as it means we will be adding more of our highly specialised expertise in the areas of climate action and environmental protection to the long-standing partnership with the City of Kiel.”
“We have been a shareholder in Kiel’s waste incineration plant for over 20 years now and our work with the City of Kiel has always been both very good and successful.”
Wolfgang Steen, Managing Director of REMONDIS GmbH & Co. KG, Region North
A milestone on Kiel’s path to becoming net zero
Sabine Schirdewahn, plant manager at Kiel’s Eigenbetrieb Beteiligungen, said: “The collaboration between the managing directors of Kiel’s waste incineration plant has been very good and constructive for over 20 years. It is shaped by their determination to ensure the plants’ operations are sustainable and that they are run safely to protect both people and the environment. At the same time, besides actively protecting the environment and curbing climate change, Kiel’s waste incineration plant and the future sewage sludge incineration facility and phosphorus recovery system are all sound and viable businesses.”
This project is the result of the long-standing, constructive collaboration between the associated REMONDIS companies as well as between the cooperation partners MVK and REMONDIS.
“With the contract signed, MVK can now recycle sewage sludge and recover the vital raw material phosphorus,” concluded Dr Frank Ehlers, managing director of MVK. “Besides recovering the phosphorus, our partner REMONDIS will, over the next 20 years, be responsible for sewage sludge deliveries, sewage sludge transport and ensuring the sewage sludge can be handled when the plants are shut down for inspections. In this particular partnership, MVK will be in charge of building and operating the sewage sludge incineration plant – the next phase of the project can now begin. We’re really pleased that this stage has been reached as our team has been working hard on this for several years now. The project is progressing really well,” he continued. A number of key preliminary tasks have already been wrapped up. The control technology needed to refurbish the existing plant and connect the new – yet to be built – facility has also been agreed on by contract. And the very important job of searching the grounds for any potential hidden explosives has been carried out without incident and will soon be completed. The next milestone can then begin on Kiel’s path to becoming net zero.
Image credits: image 1: © REMONDIS; image 2: © Thomas Eisenkrätzer; image 3: © REMONDIS
