On 1 August, Matthias Horn took over as managing director of KMT, with fresh ideas, clear goals and a passion for technology. In a brief interview, he shares what excites him most about his new position, his strategic goals, and the values that guide his collaboration with employees and business partners.

Interview:

Mr. Horn, what particularly attracted you to the position of managing director at KMT?
"What immediately appealed to me was the opportunity to work for an owner-managed German company. The product portfolio holds great potential for expansion while contributing to environmental protection – a cause dear to my heart. What is more, I appreciate being in close contact with the entire team."

Which goals will you be pursuing in your new position, and what are you especially looking forward to?
"I would like to make an active contribution to shaping our corporate strategy and culture, turning our vision into concrete goals. Key milestones are: successfully completing current projects within budget and on time, resuming the acquisition of new contracts with the aim of becoming market leader, as well as getting our service business up and running – all in line with our motto: after-sales is before sales."

What is particularly important to you in your interactions with staff and business partners?
"Professional relationships built on equality, fairness and mutual respect – these are, for me, the cornerstones of any successful collaboration."

Take a glance at Mr. Horn's profile – concise, personal, and to the point.

A key step in the commissioning of the plant.

Special thanks go to our commissioning team on site, who contributed to this success with their outstanding commitment and perseverance.

We congratulate everyone involved for reaching this important milestone and are confident that they will continue their successful work in the next phases of the project!

Major progress has been made since the commissioning of the Rothensee sewage sludge treatment plant in January 2024. The plant has been operating smoothly in continuous mode since October 2024, and at the beginning of December the fluidized-bed incinerator was successfully commissioned with the lighting of the first sewage sludge fire.

The new unit combines a KMT sewage sludge incineration line and a MARTIN GmbH waste-to-energy line. Together with the existing units 1 and 2, the plant has a total throughput capacity of one million tons per year.

The next phases of the project are warm optimization and trial operation.

This important achievement is the result of intensive preparations and the dedicated efforts of our commissioning team on site. Our heartfelt thanks go to everyone involved – congratulations for your excellent performance.

Following basic installation of the three fluidized-bed furnaces and the steam generator for the new sewage sludge treatment plant in Berlin-Waßmannsdorf in March 2024, another important milestone of the project was reached in July: The pressure test for the steam generator was successfully completed. As part of this test, the entire pressure equipment – including the steam generator tower and the associated piping – was tested for leak-tightness and pressure resistance under operating conditions. The result: 174 bar was applied over a period of 30 minutes – and no defects were found.

This marks a major step towards official commissioning.

Congratulations to our team on site, and to our colleagues at Würz GmbH, on their excellent performance!

KMT assumes overall responsibility for the plant equipment and process technology of the sewage sludge incineration plant. In addition to this main contract, KMT has also been awarded the contract for manufacturing and delivering the vapour treatment system.

The plant is to combust approx. 160,000 t/year of dewatered municipal sewage sludge by means of KMT's tried and tested fluidized-bed technology.

The generated superheated steam (41 bar(a), 400 °C) is used for generating electricity in a back-pressure turbine, while the exhaust steam from the turbine is used for predrying the sewage sludge.

The dedusting system upstream of the actual multi-stage flue gas cleaning system ensures that this plant also meets the requirement to recover phosphorous from sewage sludge/ash.

The entire plant is to be built within 33 months.

KMT assumes overall responsibility for the plant equipment and process technology of the sewage sludge incineration unit.

The plant is to combust approx. 55,000 t/year of dewatered municipal sewage sludge by means of KMT's tried and tested fluidized-bed technology.

The generated saturated steam (11 bar(a), 184 °C) is used for predrying the sewage sludge. Owing to the combination with the WTE plant's steam system, excess steam can be passed on or low-pressure steam may be obtained.

Since the sewage sludge incineration unit is equipped with its own dedusting system, the requirement to recover phosphorous from sewage sludge/ash is met. Following the separation of ash, the flue gas and the vapours from predrying are then introduced into the incinerator of the WTE plant. The flue gas mixture formed is treated in the WTE plant's flue gas cleaning system.

The entire plant is to be built within 32 months.

The new system is designed to recover up to 10 MW heat to be fed into the local district heating network. Special shell-and-tube condensers made of stainless steel and up to 14 metres in height will be used to condense the vapours forming during drying sewage sludge.

Since up to now the heat was released into the environment, installing the system will significantly improve the carbon footprint of the entire plant.

Moreover, the system will be integrated into the existing plant that it operates in parallel to the vapour condensation unit already installed. This is not only advantageous for the operational reliability of the existing combustion lines. Such an arrangement also facilitates installing the system without interrupting operation of the sludge incineration plant.

Design and installation of the unit is foreseen to be completed within 10 months.

Approximately 180,000 t/a of dewatered and pre-dried municipal sewage sludge is to be incinerated per line.

The excess steam produced during incineration is fed into the local steam collector (17 bara, 350°C) at the processing site.

The phosphorus-containing ash can then be used for targeted phosphorus recovery.

The waste water-free, multi-stage flue gas cleaning system will be designed to meet the more stringent limits to be expected in the future.

Once the permit has been obtained and the investment approved, the lines are to be erected within 36 months.

Each of the three lines has a capacity of 3.4 t of dry mass per hour.

The high-pressure steam (66 bar(a), 450 °C) forming in the heat recovery boiler following combustion is used for generating electricity in a back-pressure turbine and the exhaust steam from the turbine is in turn used for predrying the sewage sludge. What is more, district heat is supplied.

In February 2021, KMT has been commissioned with providing the detail engineering.

Following the granting of the permit and release of the funds for investment, the entire plant is to be built within 36 months.

The plant is to combust approx. 270,000 t/year of dewatered and pre-dried municipal sewage sludge, making it one of the largest plants of its kind in Germany.

The staged fluidised-bed incineration system used for this project is a technology owned by KMT and designed with an integrated post-incineration chamber and a secondary air system for achieving optimum control of the combustion process. The chosen approach reduces nitrogen oxide emissions without using SNCR equipment.

The selected process engineering setting means that the plant feeds surplus electricity to the public grid not only without burning auxiliary fuel but also by using the plant's own turbine.

By separating ash upstream of the actual flue gas cleaning system, the future-oriented requirement of recovering phosphorus from sewage sludge ashes is met.

The entire plant is to be built within 30 months.