Kalundborg Symbiosis reaches its goal: 10 new streams in 10 years

Ten streams. Ten collaborations. One common goal: full resource utilization.
By the end of 2025, Kalundborg Symbiosis will be able to announce that the strategy's goal for 2016-2025 has been achieved: ten new symbiosis streams in ten years. The last stream, the recycling of NMP (1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone), completes the picture of a local symbiosis where resources in the form of residual streams are recycled to a greater extent instead of being lost.

At the same time, 2025 also marks a change in Symbiosis' board of directors. Michael Hallgren, Senior Vice President, Novo Nordisk Manufacturing Kalundborg, who has been chairman of the board throughout the ten-year strategy period, is stepping down from the position. He will hand over his mandate to his colleague Stine Gry Roland from Novo Nordisk, while continuing as production director at Novo Nordisk in Kalundborg. Stine Gry Roland, Head of Public Affairs for Novo Nordisk's production, will thus join the board as a new member on behalf of Novo Nordisk and take over as chair on behalf of the current board until the next annual general meeting.

Michael Hallgren looks back on his time as chairman with satisfaction: he highlights the many partnerships and concrete results—including the realization of the ten new streams—and expresses his delight at being able to continue to follow the symbiosis's work and development.
"When I became chairman of the symbiosis in 2015, we developed a new strategy for the symbiosis's work towards 2025. A key element of the strategy was to identify and implement 10 new symbiosis streams. Based on the trusting and innovative collaboration between the partners, we have now achieved our goal, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their trust and excellent cooperation. I look forward to following the symbiosis's important work going forward, " says Michael Hallgren.

Strategic milestone – Ten new symbiosis streams realized
The goal has always been to create new connections between companies to improve resource utilization in energy, water, and residual materials.
"When we set the goal in 2016, it was about showing that industrial symbiosis continues to be a driving force for circular production. Today, we have 10 new streams, each of which makes Kalundborg greener, stronger, and more robust," says Michael Hallgren, outgoing chairman of the board of Kalundborg Symbiose and Senior Vice President, Novo Nordisk Manufacturing Kalundborg.

The ten new streams include:

• Recovery of surplus heat from industrial wastewater for district heating.
• Conversion of residual products into biogas and biomethane.
• The world's first water treatment plant that treats surface water without chlorine.
• Conversion from coal to biomass at the Asnæs power station.
• Use of condensate from Ørsted in the refinery.
• Data sharing for intelligent water and wastewater management.
• Production of second-generation bioethanol from straw.
• Facilities for capturing and storing CO₂
• Establishment of Northern Europe's largest industrial cooling and heating plant.
• Recycling of NMP.

"During the current strategy period over the last ten years, the framework conditions for Kalundborg have developed significantly. This provides new opportunities for innovative thinking that can strengthen and expand cooperation and synergy as we define the new strategy. The designation of Kalundborg as an industrial park and the development of Campus Kalundborg, which brings education, research, and innovation close to industry, are just a few examples of this. I am very much looking forward to working with the rest of the board and the secretariat to embark on this next exciting chapter in the development of symbiosis,"says Stine Gry Roland.

Circular chemistry: Recycling NMP
The tenth stream concerns the reuse of chemicals. An efficient and scalable process has been developed that can recycle over 99% of NMP. NMP is an organic solvent used in pharmaceutical production, among other things. The project demonstrates how industry can become more circular through technical innovation and partnerships.

The benefits of recycling NMP:

• Over 99% of NMP can be effectively recycled.
• Each ton of NMP processed reduces the climate footprint by 1.6 tons of CO₂.
• MVR technology and low-temperature distillation minimize energy consumption.
• The fabric becomes cleaner with each cycle and can be reused without any loss of quality.
• The process is robust and suitable for industrial operation.

Read more about the NMP recycling process here.

Measurable results and local growth
Overall, the new flows have contributed to significant CO₂ savings, the reuse of tens of thousands of tons of residual materials, and reductions in water consumption.
"This is a milestone for Kalundborg—but also for Denmark," says Bjarke Skaanning, head of the Kalundborg Symbiosis secretariat. “It shows that industrial symbiosis is not just an idea, but a concrete path to circular production. The vision from 2016 was about renewing, connecting, and sharing – and those values have carried us all the way to today.”

Kalundborg Symbiose is now looking forward to the next chapter, Strategy 2035.