PR - The city of Montauban chooses séché environnement to give a boost to its energy and environmental policy

Sirtomad treats household waste of inhabitants of the Grand Montauban urban area community and the Terres des Confluences community of municipalities (120,000 inhabitants in total). Following a call for tenders for the operation and modernisation of its incineration plant, Sirtomad selected the project submitted by Séché Environnement, a key player in waste recovery and treatment and decontamination services.

On 1 January 2021, Séché Environnement will begin managing the energy recovery unit, renamed Mo’UVE (Montauban Unité de Valorisation Energétique), for 20 years. The site’s employees will join the Group, which will perform major work to modernise the facilities to better meet the environmental expectations of the area and its inhabitants. This new energy recovery unit represents an investment of more than 43 million euros.

“This ambitious project allows us to continue our actions in support of the circular economy and to develop new industrial ecology solutions. With Mo’UVE, we will reuse not only more heat recovered during the combustion of waste, allowing us to expand our heating network, but also more electricity. By completely overhauling the current plant, we will obtain significant volumes of thermal (40 GWh/year) and electrical (18 GWh/year) energy while deploying the best techniques for treating atmospheric emissions to achieve the best environmental performance,” explained Brigitte Barèges, Chairperson of Sirtomad.

Planned over a period of two and a half years, the work will include installation of a new boiler furnace, optimisation of energy recovery, and upgrading of the smoke treatment system, which will incorporate the latest technologies to ensure the best environmental performance. The work will be performed while the plant’s daily operations carry on in order to ensure continuity of the waste treatment and recovery service. Special attention has also been given to the building’s architecture in order to construct a harmonious, modern complex that fits perfectly into its immediate environment.

 “We are particularly proud to have been chosen by Sirtomad. Thanks to our state-of-the-art technologies, the inhabitants of Grand Montauban and Terres des Confluences will have a leading energy recovery unit and a foundational tool for the entire area,” said Bruno Jarriand, Southwest Regional Director and Director of the Non- Hazardous Waste BU of Séché Environnement.

“Our project for Montauban is a good example of the actions we’re taking to promote the development of industrial ecology solutions to meet the needs of the areas as fully as possible,” stated Maxime Séché, CEO of Séché Environnement.

The energy recovery unit will produce heat for the urban heating network currently being expanded, as well as electricity, which will allow the facility to meet its energy needs and feed the surplus into the public grid. What’s more, an additional thermal energy reserve will make it possible to respond to energy supply development projects for local industries.

This optimised energy balance will allow the facility to receive the ISO 50001 standard, recognising the improved energy efficiency of organisations, which will make Mo’UVE a key contributor to the development of the area’s energy strategy.

Beyond waste recovery, Séché Environnement would like to make Mo’UVE an open space designed to welcome and inform anyone who is interested in gaining a better understanding of waste recovery professions and techniques. A tour and an educational path will be set up, with particular attention for schoolchildren.

Like the actions taken by the group at its other sites, Séché Environnement will also involve ecologists to define programmes and create facilities to promote biodiversity. Séché Environnement will also rely on the presence of its neighbouring DRIMM site, located in Montech/Escatalens, to create new synergies for the local environment in line with the environmental ambitions of Grand Montauban and Terres des Confluences.