kenova AG

About kenova AG

kenova AG, headquartered in Zuchwil SO, operates the Emmenspitz waste-to-energy plant (KVA), one of the larger waste incineration plants in Switzerland. The company handles the disposal, treatment and recovery of combustible waste and the resulting residues for 176 shareholder and contract municipalities in the cantons of Bern and Solothurn with around 534'000 inhabitants. Approximately 221'000 tonnes of waste are incinerated each year. The waste is delivered to the plant by rail via six transfer stations or delivered directly. The energy generated during incineration is fed into the AEK grid for electricity production and supplied as hot water to the district heating networks of AEK Energie AG and Regio Energie Solothurn. With FLUREC, kenova has been operating a zinc recycling plant since 2011 to recover zinc from fly ash. In 2025, the new waste-to-energy plant (successor plant KEBAG Enova) went into operation.

Site

Zuchwil

Processes

Disposal, treatment and recovery of combustible waste, Electricity production, District heating supply (hot water), Zinc recycling from fly ash (FLUREC), Rail transport/long-distance transport, Visitor tours

Materials

Incineration of combustible municipal waste, Zinc recycling from fly ash, Hot water district heating

Founded

1970

Industries

Waste disposal/waste recovery, Energy generation, District heating

1. 01

   Waste acceptance at the waste-to-energy plant and transfer stations

2. 02

   Long-distance transport by rail to the Emmenspitz waste-to-energy plant

3. 03

   Incineration in grate firing with steam boiler

4. 04

   Flue gas cleaning (electrostatic precipitator, wet scrubber, SNCR, dioxin

5. 05

   Energy extraction as electricity and hot water

6. 06

   Residue treatment including FLUREC zinc recycling from fly ash

Processes and Recovery

Locations

History

1. 1970

   Founding of the waste disposal company (Kehrichtbeseitigungs-AG)

2. 1974

   Groundbreaking for the waste incineration plant

3. 1976

   Commissioning of the waste-to-energy plant with lines 1 and 2; transfer stations Grenchen, Lyssach and Langenthal

4. 1982

   Commissioning of the Olten transfer station, connection agreement with the ZKO

5. 1990

   Commissioning of incineration line 3 with denitrification

6. 1993

   Commissioning of the rail siding and loading facility Emmenspitz

7. 1997

   Commissioning of the dioxin reduction system

8. 1998

   Commissioning of the fly ash washing plant

9. 2000

   Commissioning of the Balsthal-Klus transfer station

10. 2002

    Commissioning of incineration line 4; disposal agreement with KEWU AG

11. 2006

    Commissioning of the sixth transfer station in Hub, Krauchthal (KEWU)

12. 2011

    Commissioning of FLUREC – the world's first zinc recycling plant in a waste-to-energy plant

13. 2012

    Commissioning of the 21.6 MW high-pressure steam condensation turbine

14. 2014

    The Kehrichtbeseitigungs-AG KEBAG becomes KEBAG AG

15. 2015

    Successor plant project KEBAG Enova officially launched

16. 2020

    Groundbreaking and start of construction of the new building (KEBAG Enova)

17. 2024

    KEBAG becomes kenova AG

18. 2025

    Commissioning of the new waste-to-energy plant; operating revenue CHF 56.1 million