Guests representing both the UK and the international waste industry participated in the official opening of the new HUB situated in St. Marks Street outside Hull City Centre. After the opening ceremony by the Deputy Lord Mayor and Councillor, Kalvin Neal, and CEO of Geminor, Kjetil Vikingstad, the participants were taken on a site tour where the construction history and technical aspects of the HUB were presented.
The construction of the processing plant has been carried out by the contractor Keltbray and represents a total investment of approximately £10 million. The 11,000 square meter facility includes a 3,400 square meter steel hall built for the sorting and treatment of MSW and commercial waste. Most of the HUB capacity will be used to service Geminor's long-term contract with Hull City Council, which runs until 2030 with an annual waste volume of 68,000 tonnes - but tens of thousands of tonnes will be exported to Nordic district heating plants.
New technologies
The HUB is equipped with the latest industry requirements and the latest technology, such as Exeon's odor reduction system, Helios fire protection, as well as motion sensors to increase site security.
David Singh is the project manager for the Hull HUB at Geminor UK.
"The journey has been incredible, from the point of sourcing land back in 2018 and all the way up to the opening ceremony. Brexit, Covid-19, and the somewhat significant weather conditions sometimes caused challenges, but not more than we could handle. We are well underway in commissioning the facility, and look forward to operating in May," says David Singh.
Geminor UK Country Manager Oliver Caunce is delighted to see the new plant up and running after months of hard work.
"The establishment of our new HUB is an important move for Geminor and will enable us to grow further in the UK. The investment shows our commitment to the national and international recycling market and we will soon be able to supply EfW operators both in the UK and across Scandinavia," says Oliver Caunce.
"At the moment we are preparing for phase 2, which in practice means bringing in corporate expertise to remove more of the plastic from residual waste. This will enable us to produce low-carbon fractions, as well as more plastic fractions for chemical recycling," says Oliver Caunce.
First HUB in export market
CEO Kjetil Vikingstad emphasizes the strategic importance of the new facility. Kjetil Vikingstad emphasizes the strategic importance of the new facility.
"We are delighted that everything has gone according to plan and that we can now operate our first processing plant outside the Nordic region. The HUB will be strategically important in terms of our local partner Hull City Council, but also in our efforts to develop waste for recovery in export markets."
"The opening of the Hull facility means that from now on we not only have HUBs in import markets, but also in export markets such as the UK. This will make it easier to deliver on the demands of the international industry operators," concludes Kjetil Vikingstad, CEO of Geminor.
