First waste arrives at major new West Midlands energy from waste facility

A major new West Midlands energy from waste facility has received its first waste delivery, marking a key milestone as the project moves toward full operations.

enfinium said its Kelvin facility in West Bromwich had received 100 tonnes of unrecyclable waste from the facility’s supplier, SUEZ.

Once operational, enfinium’s Kelvin facility will divert up to 395,000 tonnes of unrecyclable waste from emissions-intensive landfill every year and generate up to 44MW of homegrown energy annually, enough to power more than 95,000 homes in the UK.

enfinium also said that energy from waste sites across the country will help to reduce overall emissions from the UK’s waste by diverting waste which cannot be recycled from being sent to landfill.

The construction of the site has provided a boost in the West Midlands local economy, with an investment of more than £500 million in its development.

Additionally, more than 1,600 jobs have been created during the construction phase and, once operational, the facility will provide 33 high-quality full-time roles, with nearly half being filled by those from the local area.

In May 2025, it was announced that the West Bromwich Heat Network, a town-scale low carbon heat network, was awarded almost £5 million from the government’s Green Heat Network Fund.

The scheme will harness heat from enfinium’s Kelvin facility, offering low carbon heating to residential and public buildings across West Bromwich.

The government recently recognised that surplus heat is a “critical part” of England’s future energy security in its Warm Homes Plan published in January, underlining the long-term role of energy from waste facilities in the UK’s energy system.

Simon Forshaw, VP Engineering & Construction at enfinium, said: “The arrival of first waste at our Kelvin facility marks a key milestone for the project as it progresses towards full operations later this year and a further example of progress across enfinium’s operations.

“Our state-of-the-art Sandwell facility will provide the most circular solution to managing the region’s unrecyclable waste, diverting it away from climate-damaging landfill and turning it into homegrown energy.”

Michael Garfield, Regional Commercial Manager for SUEZ, said: “We’re delighted to see enfinium’s Kelvin energy-from-waste facility take its first waste.

“The facility enhances SUEZ’s existing portfolio of owned and contracted residual offtakes and this multi-facility approach allows us to offer our customers in the Midlands a reliable, competitively priced disposal service for their waste left after recycling.”