Shanks Group loads first shipment of Icopower energy pellets

Shanks Group, based in the United Kingdom, has sent its first shipment of Icopower energy pellets from its Amsterdam loading facility.

The waste management company invested in its own quay in the Amsterdam port to underpin the servicing of a six-year contract with Heidelberg Cement Group. Under the contract, Shanks supplies metric 54,000 tons per year of Icopower energy pellets which are used to power cement kilns and to produce cement clinker. In addition to driving efficiency on the contract, the opening of the quay will optimise operations and save significant costs, Shanks says.

Also supporting the contract is a new 2,300-square-meter storage shed which opened in September at Shanks’ Icova site in Amsterdam. The storage shed stores the Icopower energy pellets ahead of their shipment to Shanks’ customers in Scandinavia.

Michael van Hulst, managing director of Shanks’ Netherlands Commercial Waste Division, says, “The opening of our own quay and storage shed at Icova not only drives efficiency and saves cost but also optimises our operations to effectively service this contract. We are delighted to have this important infrastructure in place to support and maximise the production of our unique energy pellets for the future.”

Shanks says it uses specifically collected commercial waste to ensure the high calorific Icopower energy pellets meet strict production specifications. Unlike solid recovered fuel (SRF) or refuse derived fuel (RDF), Icopower energy pellets are not classified as a waste product in the Netherlands because of their consistent and specific chemical composition. Shanks claims to be one of only a few companies in the world to make this type of high quality fuel product.