Müllverwertung Borsigstraße GmbH

Müllverwertung Borsigstraße GmbH (MVB) was a Hamburg-based waste management company that operated a municipal waste incineration plant and a biomass power plant at the Borsigstraße site in the Billbrook industrial area. The company was founded to run the waste-to-energy facility that began operation in 1994, replacing an older incineration plant at the same location. The plant had a combustion capacity of 320,000 tonnes per year across two lines, using combined heat and power to feed district heating into Hamburg's network. A biomass power plant was added on the site in 2005, burning wood waste to generate up to 20 MW of electrical energy and district heat, with a capacity of 150,000 tonnes per year. Until 2014, the company was majority-owned by Vattenfall Europe New Energy GmbH (85.5%) and Energy from Waste GmbH (14.5%). In September 2014, Stadtreinigung Hamburg acquired MVB for 78 million euros, making it a municipal asset. In April 2024, a new flue gas condensation system using heat pumps was commissioned, feeding additional energy into Hamburg's district heating network; the project had received the German Renewables Award in 2021. On 1 August 2025, MVB was merged into ZRE Zentrum für Ressourcen und Energie GmbH, which had been formed in summer 2025 through the merger with MVB, and MVB was deleted from the commercial register. The Borsigstraße site continues to operate under ZRE, a subsidiary of Stadtreinigung Hamburg via SRH Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, treating waste safely and reliably while recovering recyclables and generating electricity and heat.

Waste disposal was a major problem for Hamburg until the late 20th century. Until 1890, refuse was used as fertilizer on surrounding fields or dumped near residential areas. After more than 8,000 people died in the 1892 cholera epidemic, the Hamburg Senate decided to build the first waste incineration plant, which began operation in 1896. Over time, additional incineration plants were added in the city. The Müllverwertung Borsigstraße GmbH (MVB) was established to operate a new waste incineration plant at Borsigstraße in the Billbrook industrial area, built in the early 1990s and commissioned in 1994, replacing an older incineration facility at the same site. The plant had a combustion capacity of 320,000 tonnes per year across two lines, using combined heat and power to supply district heating to Hamburg. Some of the steam generated was transferred to the Tiefstack combined heat and power plant. In 2005, a biomass power plant was built on the site, burning wood waste to generate up to 20 MW of electrical energy and district heat, with a capacity of 150,000 tonnes per year. Until 2014, the company was owned 85.5% by Vattenfall Europe New Energy GmbH and 14.5% by Energy from Waste GmbH. In September 2014, Stadtreinigung Hamburg acquired MVB for 78 million euros. With this acquisition, the decommissioning of the Stellinger Moor incineration plant, and the expiration of the contract with MVA Stapelfeld on 31 December 2016, SRH reduced incineration capacity by about one third to 640,000 tonnes per year. In April 2024, a new flue gas condensation system was commissioned, using heat pumps to extract energy from flue gas and feed it into Hamburg's district heating network; the project received the German Renewables Award in 2021. On 1 August 2025, MVB was merged into ZRE Zentrum für Ressourcen und Energie GmbH, which had been formed in summer 2025 through the merger with MVB, and MVB was deleted from the commercial register. The Borsigstraße site continues to operate under ZRE, a subsidiary of Stadtreinigung Hamburg via SRH Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH.

• 2025

  MVB merged into ZRE Zentrum für Ressourcen und Energie GmbH on 1 August; deleted from commercial register.

• 2024

  New flue gas condensation system commissioned in April.

• 2021

  MVB receives German Renewables Award for flue gas condensation project.

• 2016

  Contract with MVA Stapelfeld ends on 31 December, reducing SRH incineration capacity.

• 2014

  Stadtreinigung Hamburg acquires MVB for 78 million euros.

• 2005

  Biomass power plant built on the Borsigstraße site.

• 1994

  New waste incineration plant at Borsigstraße commissioned, replacing an older facility.

• 1896

  First Hamburg waste incineration plant begins operation after the 1892 cholera epidemic.

Municipal waste-to-energy and resource recovery operator contributing to Hamburg's disposal security and climate protection.

• Waste incineration (thermal treatment)

  Two-line plant with 320,000 t/year capacity, generating district heat and electricity.

• Biomass power plant

  Burns wood waste, up to 20 MW electrical and district heat, 150,000 t/year capacity.

• Recovered materials

  Hydrochloric acid, gypsum, scrap metal recovered and sold.

1. 1ZRE official websitemvb-hh.de
2. 2Müllverbrennung in Hamburg – ein traditionsreiches Erfolgskonzeptmvb-hh.de
3. 3Umweltpolitik – Ersatz fossiler Brennstoffemvb-hh.de
4. 4Unternehmensziel – Fernwärme und Strom aus Abfall und Biomassemvb-hh.de
5. 5Müllverwertung Borsigstraße GmbH – Wikidatawikidata.org
6. 6Müllverwertung Borsigstraße Hamburg – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org