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European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency
News article22 June 2022European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency

LIFE close-to-market project wins ‘Global Goals Award’ 

LIFE15 ENV/SE/000265
The HaloSep facility at Vestforbrænding in Copenhagen
LIFE15 ENV/SE/000265. All rights reserved. Licensed to the European Union under conditions.

HaloSep AB partner Vestforbrænding has won the Danish Waste Association’s Global Goals Award for the HaloSep process, which makes waste incineration more circular and sustainable. HaloSep AB, an international company based in Sweden, has brought the process to the international market. 

The HaloSep process won the award as it is an excellent example of innovation and future-proof solutions that support several of the United Nations Global Goals.  

Waste that cannot be recycled or landfilled is usually burned in incineration plants, generating fly ash. This fly ash is classified as hazardous waste as it contains chlorides and heavy metals. It is sent to special hazardous waste landfills. In Sweden alone, around 150 000 tonnes of fly ash are generated yearly.  

To solve the problem, the LIFE HaloSep team built the HaloSep process at Vestforbrænding - one of Denmark’s largest waste-to-energy plants. This facility is the first of its kind in the world. The process separates metals and salt from the fly ash, leaving a purified ash that is classified as non-hazardous waste. The metal in the ash can be recycled, while the salt can be used for de-icing roads or in construction.  

As a result of the process, there should be 40% less fly ash generated from the waste, and the process eliminates the need for treating scrubber liquid used to clean the ash. It also uses significantly fewer chemicals than previously. Overall, costs are down by around 60% and the need to transport the fly ash is lowered, reducing emissions.  

Also, HaloSep can be adapted to varied sizes of incineration plants and can be built locally. 

The plant completed its final test period in April, and the process is now available on the international market. The team has started collaborating with several potential customers in Sweden and elsewhere and is seeing a lot of interest in the solution. 

‘The HaloSep process offers a clear benefit to any city or municipality that relies on incinerating household waste to generate electricity or district heating,’ said Staffan Svensson, President of HaloSep AB. ‘To receive this award confirms what we already knew; HaloSep makes a real difference to society.’ 

The project supports the EU’s Waste Framework Directive, which calls on Member States to recycle 50% of their municipal and 70% of their construction waste. It also contributes to the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan, a key element of the European Green Deal.  

Find out more about LIFE close-to-market projects. 

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