RDF Dryer Manufacturer in Germany
See how we dry RDFLooking for RDF dryers manufacturers in Germany? STRONGA builds FlowDrya lines to order at its Hertfordshire works and supplies them to Germany — see the regulatory and economic context below.
FlowDrya RDF dryers are engineered to order at STRONGA's Hertfordshire works and supplied to German fuel producers, though no FlowDrya RDF line is documented in the country yet. Drying matters here because the 2005 landfill ban shut off cheap burial of untreated waste: refuse-derived fuel must instead be recovered, and the 17. BImSchV governs its co-incineration in cement kilns and power plants. A wet, variable RDF burns poorly and is rejected at the gate; pulling it down to a low, even moisture lifts and steadies the calorific value so the fuel meets the quality a licensed off-taker will accept. The FlowDrya's stop-start moving floor handles the coarse, contrary mix that RDF presents.
Supplying Germany
We supply Germany from our Hertfordshire works — we have no documented RDF installation in Germany yet.
Regulatory context
The Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz (KrWG, Circular Economy Act) is Germany's framework waste statute and transposes the EU Waste Framework Directive into national law. Its section 6 fixes a five-step waste hierarchy — prevention, preparation for re-use, recycling, other recovery including energy recovery, and only then disposal — so an operation that dries wet residue into a fuel or a soil product counts as recovery and ranks above burial in the legal order rather than heading for a landfill.
Source: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/krwg/ · checked 2026-08
Since 2005 Germany has banned the landfilling of untreated municipal and high-organic-content waste. Under the Deponieverordnung (Landfill Ordinance) household-like waste must be pre-treated — by incineration or mechanical-biological treatment, and held below strict limits on organic-substance content — before any residual may be buried, which closes off cheap disposal and pushes wet, biodegradable residues toward drying and recovery.
Source: https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/topics/waste-resources/waste-disposal/landfill · checked 2026-08
Burning waste-derived and biomass fuels — including co-incineration alongside clinker in cement kilns and in power plants — is regulated by the 17. BImSchV, the ordinance on the incineration and co-incineration of waste, which sets the emission limits that such a plant must meet. A dried Ersatzbrennstoff with a consistent low moisture and a documented quality is exactly what these licensed co-incineration installations can accept in place of fossil fuel.
Source: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bimschv_17_2013/ · checked 2026-08
Applicable standards: EN ISO 21640, EN ISO 17225-4, EN ISO 18134, RAL quality assurance for compost and digestate (BGK).
Economic context
Germany prices carbon on heating and transport fuels through its national emissions trading scheme (nEHS) under the Fuel Emissions Trading Act (BEHG): the fixed price rose from 25 euros per tonne of CO2 in 2021 to 55 euros in 2025, and from 2026 certificates are auctioned within a corridor of 55 to 65 euros, with coal covered since 2023 and waste fuels from 2024. This sits alongside the EU Emissions Trading System for heavy industry, so displacing coal or petcoke with a dried waste- or biomass-derived fuel avoids a real and rising per-tonne charge.
Source: https://www.dehst.de/EN/Topics/nEHS/understanding-nEHS/understanding-nehs_artikel.html · checked 2026-08
The German cement industry is one of the world's heaviest users of alternative fuel, which underpins deep domestic demand for a dried, specification-consistent Ersatzbrennstoff: VDZ environmental data put the sector's thermal substitution rate at around 74 per cent, roughly one third of that biomass. That demand rewards a low, even moisture and a documented calorific value.
Source: https://www.vdz-online.de/en/news-1/vdzs-environmental-data-2023-published · checked 2026-08
Bought-in power is a real cost: Eurostat put Germany's non-household (industrial) electricity price at 0.2264 euros per kWh in the second half of 2025, among the highest in the EU, which favours drying systems built around recovered kiln, boiler or flue heat rather than grid electricity.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20260508-2 · checked 2026-08
Industrial gas is likewise expensive: Eurostat put the German non-household natural gas price at 0.0713 euros per kWh in the second half of 2025, again among the highest in the EU, so running a dryer on a site's own combined-heat surplus rather than bought-in gas protects the operating margin.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20260508-3 · checked 2026-08
Worked illustration (assumptions stated):
German demand for a dried Ersatzbrennstoff is deep. The cement industry substitutes around 74 per cent of its kiln fuel with alternative fuels, so a specification-consistent RDF has an established, hungry market. Displacing coal or petcoke also avoids a rising carbon charge: the national nEHS price climbed from 25 euros per tonne of CO2 in 2021 to 55 euros in 2025 and is auctioned within a 55-to-65-euro corridor from 2026, on top of the EU Emissions Trading System. Because German industrial power runs at 0.2264 euros per kWh and gas at 0.0713 euros per kWh, firing the dryer on recovered process or flue heat rather than bought-in energy is what keeps the drying step economic. Assumptions: fuel offtake price and heat source are site-specific.
Figures are indicative and were last reviewed August 2026; energy and disposal prices move — contact us for a current assessment.
RDF Dryer Manufacturer in Germany — FAQ
Do you supply RDF dryers in Germany?
Yes, from our Hertfordshire factory. We hold no commissioned RDF line in the country yet, so we will not imply one; the platform is the same continuous-flow FlowDrya proven on our British reference sites.
Why does the landfill ban drive RDF drying here?
Since 2005 untreated waste cannot be buried, so the combustible fraction must be recovered as fuel. Drying stabilises that fraction and raises its calorific value, turning a residue with nowhere to go into an Ersatzbrennstoff a cement kiln or power plant will take.
What moisture does RDF need for co-incineration?
Off-takers want a low, consistent moisture — typically below 20%, and lower still for the tightest kiln specifications — because water depresses the net calorific value. FlowDrya is configured to the target moisture the fuel contract sets.
Which rules govern burning the fuel?
Co-incineration of waste-derived fuel is regulated by the 17. BImSchV, which sets the emission limits a cement kiln or power plant must meet. A dried, documented fuel of steady quality is what keeps a plant within those limits.
Does the FlowDrya cope with coarse, mixed RDF?
Yes. The hydraulic moving floor tumbles and conveys a contrary, oversized mix without the blockages that beset auger and belt systems, drying the material evenly across the deck.