The lighthouse project Billund BioRefinery now enters the construction phase, and this was celebrated with a visit by the Minister for the Environment Kirsten Brosbøl and a string of key persons from the water sector.

Under expert guidance by Mayor Ib Kristensen, Billund Municipality – who is contractor in civilian life – the Minister for the Environment dug ”the first shovelful of soil” with a mini digger to mark the beginning of the physical realisation of the the Wastewater Treatment Plant of the Future.

"We build a lighthouse that is to help plotting the course for Danish environmental technology of the highest standard. It is projects like this that resonates internationally, which will benefit the environment, the export business and create Danish jobs in the future, says the Minister for the Environment Kirsten Brosbøl in connection with the visit.

The Wastewater Treatment Plant of the Future is built in close cooperation between the environmental group Krüger A/S and the municipally-owned utility company Billund Vand A/S. It is a pilot project with a new, unique technology that combines the treatment of wastewater and bio gasification of organic waste in a very efficient way, so that three times as much energy is produced than required for the treatment plant operation. The project has already this year been awarded international prizes, among others the Global Water Award and one of the European Business Awards for the Environment 2014.

”Our EXELYS™-technology is the secret behind the exceptional energy production, and other Krüger-technologies enable us to reach new heights in the utilisation of resources. It will be a unique reference project which we look very much forward to showing our clients in Denmark and abroad,” says Leif Bentsen, Vice President of Krüger A/S.

Billund BioRefinery has a total budget of nearly DKK 70 mill. and is constructed with financial support from the Ministry of the Environment and the Foundation for Development of Technology in the Danish Water Sector (VTU-fonden). The plant builds on among other things the good experience from sorting-at-the-source and bio gasification of organic waste with which Billund Municipality has had great success.

”Waste and wastewater are resources. This has been the basic policy in Billund Vand for many years, and it attracts great interest from Danish as well as international specialists. Now we go one step further and gain new experience which we look forward to communicating to our business colleagues,” says Ole P. Johnsen, Managing Director of Billund Vand A/S.