Green transport of waste for fuel
RDF – residue-derived fuel – is waste that has been processed and packed in bales so it can be used as fuel in power plants.
A new RDF supply chain with a combination of road, ship and rail transport for delivery of RDF bales from Geminor’s UK processing plant to a power plant in Västerås in Sweden was tested successfully in partnership between DFDS, Geminor and Green Cargo. “When the ship arrived in Gothenburg, the RDF was reloaded onto rail wagons for final delivery to Mälerenergi,” says David Wallgren, Manager of Operations for Shipping Logistics & Special Cargo, DFDS in Gothenburg.
The many Swedish power plants that can turn waste into electricity and heating have contributed to the country’s record reduction in CO2 emissions. And now the environmental benefits have just been increased by DFDS and our partners from Geminor and Green Cargo. On 3 May, the partners tested a new environmentally friendly transport of the RDF bales from Geminor’s waste processing and packaging plant in the UK to Mälerenergi’s power plant in Västerås near Stockholm.
“It is a combination of road, ship and rail transport. 128 RDF bales, each weighing a tonne, were transported by truck to Immingham, where they were loaded into our ship on mega cassettes. When the ship arrived in Gothenburg, the RDF was reloaded onto rail wagons at the MIMAB terminal next to DFDS’ Gothenburg Ro-Ro terminal and transported by rail to the power plant in Västerås. There, it was combusted and turned into electricity and heating for Swedish homes,” says David Wallgren, Manager of Operations for Shipping Logistics & Special Cargo.
The partnership means that Geminor processes and delivers the waste as RDF packed in bales, Green Cargo delivers the rail transport and DFDS looks after the sea transport and reloading in port.
“We are the first in the Industry to do this, and as the test came out as a big success, I think that many power companies will see the benefits of using a supply chain as efficient and environmentally friendly as this,” says Morgan Olausson, VP of BU North Sea North. He adds that Geminor is now looking for other power plants and RDF customers with a rail connection.