Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), has visited enfinium’s latest energy from waste facility, Kelvin, in Sandwell. The visit coincided with enfinium announcing that it has now appointed the workforce needed to run the plant once it is operational.
Kelvin is a £500m critical infrastructure project due to come online later this year. It will process up to 395,000 tonnes of unrecyclable waste each year that would otherwise be sent to landfill or exported overseas. Using energy from waste technology, it will convert this unrecyclable material into enough homegrown energy to meet the needs of more than 95,000 homes.
During his visit, Mayor Parker met some of newly hired team that will operate Kelvin. Once fully operational, Kelvin will support 31 new, full-time jobs in a range of highly skilled roles, including engineering, operations and site management. The site will also be included in enfinium’s groupwide apprenticeship programme, which provides training and development for future operations and maintenance technicians, aligning with the Government’s ambition to increase access to high-quality apprenticeships.
Nearly half of enfinium’s new recruits at Kelvin are from the local area, underscoring the company’s commitment to long-term skills development in the community and building a highly capable local workforce. The facility has already generated millions of pounds in economic activity during its construction.
enfinium also outlined its longer-term ambition to make Kelvin a ‘decarbonisation hub’, supporting nearby homes and businesses to lower their carbon footprint by displacing fossil fuels and, in time, removing carbon from the atmosphere. The business is actively exploring plans to provide heat to a new heat network, which could supply local businesses, homes, schools, and hospitals. enfinium will soon open a tendering process to deliver the heat offtake, and a plot of land at the site has been earmarked for the scheme’s back up and top energy centre.
The mayor also heard about enfinium’s annual £50,000 Community Fund, for which this year’s applications are now open. Funding supports projects and organisations that directly benefit the communities neighbouring the site. Previous successful applicants have included Tees Titan’s, a multi-sport after school programme for children in North Smethwick, Sandwell, and free glass fusion workshops for young people from across the region at the Stourbridge Glass Museum.
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “This is a big investment by enfinium and a real vote of confidence in our region. My Growth Plan includes a credible strategy to adopt smarter ways of generating, storing and using energy across our region, and it will be private sector backing like this that will be key to delivering that better future for our communities.
“With enfinium’s investment we’re equipping the region for the future: deploying the region’s own resources to boost local energy resilience and reducing reliance on international markets, making sure businesses and residents have the energy they need – all while creating local jobs. That’s good news for people in Sandwell and beyond, and progress for our plan to reduce carbon emissions.”
Mike Maudsley, Chief Executive Officer at enfinium, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome the mayor to our newest facility in Sandwell. Kelvin is a critical new piece of infrastructure which will be a long-term asset for the local community. We are proud to be creating new, skilled jobs, supporting local growth, and powering homes and businesses across the West Midlands with home-grown energy. We also have ambitious plans for the facility to anchor a new heat network in the area, helping those around us to decarbonise. We look forward to strengthening our engagement with the community and delivering lasting benefits for the region.’’
Notes to editor
About enfinium
enfinium is a leading UK energy from waste operator with five operational sites in the UK, in West Yorkshire, Kent and Flintshire, and one in construction. enfinium diverts 2.7 million tonnes of unrecyclable waste from climate-damaging landfill, putting it to good use by turning it into home grown energy, enough to power 600,000 UK homes. enfinium’s ambition is to transform its facilities into local ‘decarbonisation hubs’ powered by the millions of tonnes of unrecyclable waste the UK will produce for decades to come. Using existing energy from waste infrastructure, enfinium could contribute to heat networks, produce electrolytic hydrogen, or use carbon capture technology to provide durable, high quality carbon removals which will be critical for the UK to achieve net zero by 2050. For more on enfinium, please visit www.enfinium.co.uk.
About enfinium’s Community Fund
Applications for enfinium’s Community Fund are welcomed from registered charities, schools, places of learning, not-for-profit companies, community organisations and groups – including those supported by public funding. For more on the Community Fund and how to apply, please visit: https://enfinium.co.uk/communities/community-fund/.
