Renewi gets a €40 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The money is intended to finance the construction of new waste sorting facilities in Belgium, compliance with VLAREMA 8 legislation, new plastic recycling facilities and the production of gas from spoiled food in the Netherlands.
Waste processing and recycling company Renewi was created in 2017 following a merger of Shanks Group with Van Gansewinkel Group. It is headquartered in the UK. The Netherlands and Belgium are the company's main markets.
Financing new investments
The loan agreement Renewi is now entering into with the EIB gives the company access to 40 million euros. The company plans to use this money to finance new investments in the Netherlands and Belgium part; a total of EUR 100 million in planned investments.
Three projects
In total, Renewi plans to use the loan to finance three projects. The first project consists of the construction of three new high-tech processing lines for residual waste, commercial waste and industrial waste in Flanders. With the help of the processing lines, Renewi aims to recover and recycle more raw materials, leading to incineration of less waste.
The second project involves the construction of a new sorting plant for hard plastics at the Dutch site Acht. Here, Renewi will produce high-quality secondary plastics. Market demand for these is increasing.
The third project consists of an upgrade of Renewi's biogas production. Here, the company breaks down biodegradable material into biogas using micro-organisms, without the need for oxygen. The resulting secondary raw materials it produces make fossil fuels redundant, limits the use of new raw materials and reduces emissions. Using new and improved equipment, Renewi can now convert 60% of biogas into biomethane. The company transports the remaining 40% to an existing bio-LNG plant.
Reduce emissions and 'virgin resource use'
Kris Peeters, Vice President of the EIB, explains: "Waste treatment and disposal are becoming increasingly important if we want to reduce emissions and virgin raw materials use. This is reason enough to tackle this as efficiently as possible. I am delighted that the EIB, can assist Renewi in its broad ambition to give used materials a new life and also facilitate the company's further sustainability of its operations in Belgium and the Netherlands."
Annemieke den Otter, Chief Financial Officer at Renewi, added: "Renewi is immensely proud of this expression of support from the EIB for investments in green infrastructure in both the Netherlands and Belgium. The fight against climate change will not be won without making our economy circular and reusing more materials. This transition requires massive investments in advanced technologies. We are ready to fully commit to this accelerating transition by relentlessly investing, innovating and developing into the 'waste-to-product' partner in the EU. We also hope to further expand our cooperation with the EIB over time."
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Photo: Shirley Hirst via Pixabay
