Resand

The annual global consumption of sand products, that is, sand, gravel and crushed rock, is in the region of 40–50 billion tonnes. Every tonne of metal cast generates roughly one tonne of waste sand, which amounts to nearly 10 million tonnes of waste sand each year in Europe alone.

Metal foundries use sand in their moulds and add a binding agent to the sand to keep the moulds together during the casting process. The heat of the molten metal causes the binding agents to adhere to the surface of the sand grains, reducing their reusability. The most common solution to this problem is to replace used sand with virgin sand and the contaminated sand is disposed of in landfills.

Resand (former Finn Recycling) has developed a foundry sand treatment or regeneration technology and a modular sand reclaimer utilising that technology. The reclaimer treats waste sand thermally and mechanically to increase the recycling rate of foundry sand and reduce the consumption of virgin sand.

The Climate Fund’s investment decisions are guided by a three-tiered set of criteria. The preconditions for funding are a credible plan for repayment of the investment and return of capital, that with the Climate Fund’s investment the project will be realised in the first place, earlier or on a larger scale, and alignment with the EU’s sustainable investment regulation’s do no significant harm principle (DNSH).  Other aspects in the investment decision include emission reductions and other impact, such as productivity and business potential.

The ten-year cumulative emissions reduction potential of a single reclaimer is approximately 2.8 kt CO₂-eq. If the company’s ambitious business plan succeeds, the theoretical ten-year cumulative global emissions reduction potential of the solution is estimated at 1 Mt CO₂-eq. However, the final emissions reductions will depend on the number and locations of the foundries using the company’s services.

The purpose of Climate Fund’s 8 million euro capital loan is to accelerate the deployment of reclamation equipment and the company’s entry into the international market. The funding makes it possible for the foundry industry to adopt a more sustainable sand management model. The interest on the Climate Fund’s capital loan is priced at the market rate and the capital loan also includes a conversion right.