N+P Group reveals how waste can transform industries and reduce global emissions
N+P Group (N+P) is one of the most innovative and pioneering companies in production of waste derived alternative fuels, waste sorting and trading. With over 30 years of experience working on projects around the world, N+P is on a mission to decarbonize global industries and reduce the challenge of non-recyclable waste by turning waste into valuable new resources.
Although the business is partly family owned and operated, it operates on a global scale, with offices throughout Europe and several production locations in England and the Netherlands. Its purpose is to ensure that non-recyclable waste is converted into alternative fuels and raw materials, which reduces carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuels. In the future this material can be utilized as feedstock for waste to chemical processes. The waste is also prevented from going to landfill where it would disappear from the cycle, and instead given a new valuable contribution.
As a pioneer in the commercial production of waste derived fuels and raw materials, N+P is responsible for the production and trading of several alternatives like Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) and Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF). It also created Subcoal®, a unique fuel source in pellet form, that is increasingly seen as the ideal feedstock for gasification processes to produce syngas which can be further treated to various chemicals and products like Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).
Productive partnership
The company was founded in 1992 in the Netherlands by Karel and Karin Jennissen, and the pair quickly built positive working relationships in the Netherlands, Germany, and France. In 2009, the founder’s sons, Lars and Stijn Jennissen, joined the business with a fresh mindset to take the company to new heights. In 2016 their youngest brother Jens also joined the business. “Although Stijn and I started in the business together, we’re fortunate that we’ve naturally grown to manage different areas, as it’s never good to have two captains steering the same ship. Specifically, I’ve grown more to the technical side, working on technologies to transform waste into a useable material, whereas Stijn focuses on the commercial aspects and strategic business development,” Lars mentioned.
Valuable applications
Today, Lars and Stijn serve as Chief Technology & Innovation Officer and Chief Development Officer respectively and have extended N+P’s operations by adopting new technologies and acquiring material recovery plants to ensure waste is sorted before it’s used as feedstock for other processes. We sit down with Lars and Stijn to get a greater insight into how they’re continuing to steer what was once their father’s company towards further success.
“It’s been quite a nice journey since we joined the family business straight after graduation,” opens Stijn when we ask about the company’s history. “At that time, the main activity was shipping waste from multiple countries in Europe that have an overflow and no local treatment plants, other than landfill. To put it simply, we found better uses for the waste that prevented it from going to landfill. We began to ship waste from the UK to the Netherlands, for instance, where it was used to generate heat and energy in incinerators.
“That’s really where our production journey began; we recognized that there was a significant gap between the quality requirements that industrial plants were demanding and the quality of the material that the waste industry was offering. There weren’t any companies specializing in the production of high-quality fuels from waste materials that had real-world, valuable applications for industries.
“To bridge that gap, we acquired a factory in 2012, which was already trying to produce fuels but struggling to really convert their ideas into a feasible and scalable production process,” Stijn continues. We officially acquired Subcoal’s technology patents, and subsequently took over the production location in Farmsum, the Netherlands. “With significant investment and implementing our ideas about the process, we developed our first high-quality fuels which could be fine-tuned based on the specific needs per industry. Traditionally, for example, we were just supplying the cement industry, but we developed a market position in multiple industries from there and expanded our production capacity with a new plant in Teesside UK.
“Our fuels are the final step in bridging waste to value. That is why we saw the combination with the recovery of materials for recycling as a logical synarchy and responded to this with new acquisitions in 2021 of the largest material recovery site in the Netherlands, along with the largest recovery facility in the UK, which boasts the capacity to sort over 500,000 tons of waste per year. Then, in May 2023, we purchased another site, taking our portfolio to five operating plants and a fuel production capacity of close to 700 kton per annum. We currently have plans in place to start the construction of a plant in France and we’re also exploring the possibility of another plant in Austria.”
High-quality products
Lars adds: “Today, we’re seeing a rise in companies across the oil and gas sector for pyrolysis and gasification and in the case of both technologies, the feedstock is the determining factor for whether a project will be successful. These clients often end up working with us because we’ve got the knowledge and experience required to supply them with high-quality products.
“That’s where my contribution takes center stage; speaking with customers to educate them on harvesting the true potential of waste, getting an in-depth understanding of their needs, and then transferring that into the feedstock they need.
“We rely on our suppliers and partners across the business to ensure our operations run successfully. However, as such an innovative business with a relatively new concept, it can be difficult to find high-end suppliers who, like us, think outside the box. We’re lucky to have a great supplier network to help us optimize our processes and drive innovation across the industry.”
Sustainable alternatives
While Lars and Stijn remain humble about N+P’s success, it’s clear that they are following in their father’s footsteps in terms of their passion, work ethic, and determination to succeed. “We’re fortunate to have acquired our position within a field that nobody even knew existed,” Stijn reflects. “If you look at the industry at large, many solutions have been designed around dealing with waste, whereas we look at things the other way around. Instead, we examine existing production processes and find ways to utilize waste as an alternative to be added directly within such processes.
“As part of our work to replace certain fossil based fuels, we recognize that to be successful, our alternatives must have at least the same qualities. For the giants in the oil and gas industry that require a high yield of product, this often requires a more dedicated feedstock. That’s where we come into play, as we can mechanically process waste in such a way that it’s valuable for these companies to use.”
As our conversation draws to a close, Lars and Stijn explain their ambitious goals for the business moving forward, and how N+P is striving to transform how the world approaches the topic of waste. “The waste industry was historically dominated by collectors in a specific production region, but we’re taking steps to reinvent the market,” Stijn summarizes. “Although we think of oil and gas as essential to our everyday lives, there are so many more industries that support us that aren’t as well known to households. It’s our ambition to provide these industries with an alternative to change their fuel mix to a more sustainable one.
“We’re constantly questioning what we can do next, where we can expand, and how we can optimize our process. With such innovative thinking, we’re striving to transform the waste landscape over the next ten-to-20 years.” Lars concludes: “We’ve set ourselves the target of totaling 15 sites in our portfolio by 2028, but generally speaking, our future is focused on exactly what our mission statement suggests, to decarbonize the industry by utilizing waste.”
Maarten-Jan Theijs – Project Delivery Manager, Technology & Innovation, to add his input. He describes why he chose to come and work at the business. “N+P’s mission statement, ‘to decarbonize the industry by utilizing waste’ was exactly what caught my eye in finding a new challenge. Being trained as a Hydrographic Surveyor, at the nautical college in Amsterdam, I started in the offshore oil and gas industry in the early nineties. The main objectives were to discover oil and gas, install pipelines and cables and position rigs. I expanded my experience in this sector, working worldwide, until around 2015. Having developed myself in operations and project management in various other industries, it opened my eyes to the fact that there is more to life than fossil fuels.
“When I joined N+P, for me it was clear that I wanted to be part of a team that believes and is a forerunner in the development and production of high-quality fuels from waste and is working hard towards reducing global emissions. Figuratively speaking, for me, it came full circle. I had finally found somewhere that understands both the oil and gas industry and the waste to alternative fuel industry.”