In a deal designed to provide 1.5 million Moscow residents with a renewable source of energy by 2023, RHI Magnesita has signed a consortium agreement with Russia’s ZiO-Podolsk (part of Rosatom’s manufacturing branch, AO “Atomenergomash”) to supply refractory engineering, materials and installation services for the construction of four new waste-to-energy plants.
“This new partnership will enable RHI Magnesita, already positioned at the forefront of the global refractory industry, to further drive market leadership by expanding its presence in the Waste-to-Energy market in the Europe CIS region,” said Uwe Puesch, Head of RHI Magnesita’s Process Industries Business Unit. ”Not only does the deal represent a new client relationship for the company; it is also an opportunity participate in an important project from an environmental perspective.”
The project consists of four plants in the Moscow area: Voskresensk district, located in the city’s south, Naro-Fominsk district, located in the west, Noginsk district, located in the east, and Solnechnogorsk city district in the north. Each plant will have three incineration lines. Combined, the facilities – which represent a new direction for the Russian capital’s waste treatment initiatives – will treat the residual waste of approximately 5 million residents and supply some 1.5 million with electricity. Each plant has a power capacity of 75 MWe.
Of the agreement, the Head of RHI Magnesita’s Industrial Business Unit Stefan Rathausky said: “This represents a fantastic business expansion success story for our company. Signing this deal has further strengthened RHI Magnesita’s presence in the CIS region by establishing a foothold in Russia, thus aligning with corporate strategic priorities. At the same time, these plants will substantially reduce landfill sites, optimizing waste management by processing a full 2.8 million tons of residual waste annually.”
Waste-to-energy (WtE) is a technologically advanced method for generating power while concurrently disposing of the non-hazardous waste that remains following recycling. The burning of the waste heats water; the resulting steam drives a turbine which in turn creates electricity. Incineration provides a particularly sustainable alternative to landfills, which emit large quantities of greenhouse gasses such as methane. Resulting gases will be filtered and cleaned to mitigate environmental impacts. The new plants, known as Moscow 1-4, are associated with Russia’s Green Tariff program, which was launched in 2017 to promote renewable energy.
In the agreement, “RHI WOSTOK SERVICE” partners with “ZiO-Podolsk”, a subsidiary of “Atomenergomash”, the manufacturing brunch of “Rosatom”. “ZiO Podolsk” is the original equipment manufacturer and supplier of the power island equipment for the incineration plants, which are constructed in Russia. “ZiO-Podolsk” supplies the three boilers for each of the four plants.
Operations at the plants are set to commence in stages until 2023 at which point all four will be fully functional.