DS Smith and E.ON to develop new WTE and CHP plant at German paper mill

In Germany, DS Smith and E.ON announced ambitious plans for a new Waste To Energy (WTE) and Combined Heat and Power plant at the Aschaffenburg paper mill in Germany. The new plant will combine technologies to generate energy from production waste at the site with a highly efficient combined heat and power process.

The WTE plant, due to be completed in H2 2025 is being built and operated by E.ON who has worked with DS Smith since summer 2020 to develop a new energy supply solution for the site. The new WTE plant will enable the site to utilize all rejected materials from its paper for recycling stock, ensuring no materials are wasted in the production of its paper.

By integrating waste recycling into the power-heat cycle, a high degree of energy utilization is achieved. This brings a range of benefits for the site, including a reduction of the site’s reliance on natural gas by 25% and savings of 50,000 metric tons of CO2 per year once fully operational. The natural gas saved at the site is the equivalent of supplying heating to a town with 85,000 inhabitants for a year. In addition, DSS and E.ON will take further measures to decarbonise the production, e.g. by shifting to carbon neutral (biogenic) and carbon free (hydrogen) fuels as soon as they are commercially available.