Which Chinese Company Leads the Waste-to-Energy Expansion Overseas?

SHANGHAI, June 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As China's domestic waste-to-energy (WtE) market becomes increasingly saturated, Chinese WtE enterprises have shifted their focus to international markets. As early as 2023, The Environmental Sanitation Net Of China predicted in its annual review — "a wave of Chinese waste incineration companies will head overseas." Now that it is already halfway through 2025, how have these overseas ventures performed? Now, let's take a look at the latest data.

Based on publicly available information compiled and verified by The Environmental Sanitation Net Of China, as of June 2025, there are a total of 43 overseas WtE projects invested in, constructed, and operated by enterprises from China (projects which Chinese enterprises are only responsible for construction or equipment supply are excluded), with a total design treatment capacity of 57,700 tons per day.

Among the 35 projects with disclosed investment figures, the total investment amounts to approximately 6.43 billion USD, with a total design treatment capacity of 44,600 tons per day. Based on these figures, the average investment treating per ton of waste amount for overseas WtE projects stands at roughly 144,200 USD, or approximately 1,036,800 CNY.

These projects are distributed across 13 countries, spanning Asia, South America, and Africa. Among them, Vietnam hosts the largest number of projects, reaching 10, followed by Thailand with 8 projects.

In terms of treatment capacity, Uzbekistan ranks first, with a total designed capacity of 14,000 tons per day across 7 projects. Vietnam also surpassed the 10,000-tonnes-per-day scale, following closely with a processing capacity of 12,100 tons per day.

The data in the chart clearly indicates that Chinese WtE companies are mainly focusing their overseas efforts on Central Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, particularly countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Since its inception, the BRI has consistently prioritized green development as one of its key areas, actively promoting the concept of ecological priority and green development, thereby providing vast collaborative opportunities for cooperation in sustainable development among countries along its route. Within this framework, China has conducted extensive dialogue and cooperation with numerous BRI nations in the field of environmental protection, creating a favorable political atmosphere and foundation for Chinese WTE companies to expand overseas.

From the perspective of market demand, Central Asia and Southeast Asia have experienced rapid development in recent years, with the urbanization process accelerating. A large population has flocked to cities, leading to continuous urban expansion and a sharp increase in waste generation. Historically, waste management methods in these regions have been relatively rudimentary, with low incineration rates. This leaves substantial room for improvement and presents significant market potential for waste-to-energy enterprises.

On the policy front, multiple countries have provided explicit policy support for the WtE industry. Nations such as the Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia have introduced relevant policies covering waste disposal fee policies, the development process of WtE projects, and benchmark guidance for feed-in tariffs.

Additionally, from a geographical and cultural standpoint, Central Asia and Southeast Asia are relatively close to China. Whether in terms of language, culture, mindset, or habits, there are certain similarities with China, facilitating communication and collaboration between both parties.

With all these favorable conditions, the aforementioned regions has naturally made them the preferred destinations for domestic WTE companies to "go global," bringing new development opportunities and growth potential for the ventures.

According to statistics, more than 10 Chinese companies have invested in and constructed overseas WtE projects. Prominent domestic players such as Everbright Environment, SUS ENVIRONMENT, Grandblue Environment, China Tianying, and Junxin are all actively included. Among them, SUS ENVIRONMENT leads in both the quantity of overseas WtE projects signed (13) and total treatment capacity (16,260 tons per day), making it the undisputed "dual leader." China Tianying ranks second, with six overseas WtE projects and a total capacity of 8,800 tons per day.

SUS ENVIRONMENT and China Tianying are both privately-owned enterprises, as is Junxin Co., Ltd., which ranks third in terms of total overseas WTE treatment capacity. This reflects the unique advantages of private enterprises in market expansion, institutional flexibility, and technological innovation during the "going global" process of WtE industry.

SUS ENVIRONMENT, as an example, aims to "Establish an SUS Overseas" by setting up local offices in countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. SUS ENVIRONMENT focuses on Southeast Asia, delves into Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, and expands into South America, Europe, and Oceania, centering on the investment, construction, and operation of WtE plants, complemented by equipment integration and engineering technology for global outreach.

Currently, SUS ENVIRONMENT has implemented projects in multiple countries. In Thailand, it has secured concession for the Nonthaburi MSW incineration project. In Indonesia, it signed a concession agreement for the Makassar WtE project. In Vietnam, it has signed several contracts, including the Ho Chi Minh Tam Sinh Nghia WtE Project. Additionally, it has significant project deployments in Uzbekistan and the Iraq, such as the Baghdad Waste-to-energy Project in Iraq, with a design capacity of processing 3,000 tons of waste per day. Leveraging cutting-edge technology and robust equipment manufacturing capabilities, SUS ENVIRONMENT has become the largest waste-to-energy investor in terms of contracted treatment capacity in Asia (excluding China, Japan, and South Korea). Moreover, SUS ENVIRONMENT's equipment and technology have been applied to over 300 domestic and international projects, covering more than 540 incineration lines, with a daily treatment capacity exceeding 300,000 tons. Through this, SUS ENVIRONMENT contributing a "Chinese Solution" for solid waste management to global sustainability development.

China Tianying is among the first batch of waste incineration enterprises to expand overseas. In October 2017, China Tianying and WAH & HUA PTE LTD signed a Shareholders' Agreement to jointly invest in establishing a joint venture in Singapore, responsible for the investment, construction, and operation of the Singapore's Tuas WtE project with a capacity of 300 tons/day. Subsequently, China Tianying focused on Southeast Asia, achieving successive breakthroughs in Vietnam. It signed investment agreements for four WtE projects: Hanoi, Phu Tho, Thanh Hoa, and Hung Yen. Among them, the Hanoi project, which began operation in 2023, processes over 4,000 tons of MSW per Day. It has achieved strong revenue performance, and boasts a revenue collection cycle of approximately one month.

Junxin Co., Ltd., listed in 2022 and known as a rising star in the WtE sector, had its domestic projects limited to areas such as Changsha, Liuyang, and Pingjiang in Hunan province. "Going global" has become a critical component of its market expansion strategy. Currently, Junxin has signed three WtE projects in Kyrgyzstan, with a total design capacity of 6,000 tons per day, ranking just behind SUS ENVIRONMENT and China Tianying. To further strengthen its overseas presence, Junxin has prepared to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Besides private enterprises, major state-owned enterprises such as Everbright Environment, Grandblue Environment, China CAMC Engineering and Shenzhen Energy are also leveraging their strong capital reserves and rich operation experience to actively tapping into overseas markets.

Actually, in addition to direct investment and operation, many Chinese companies participate in overseas WtE projects by providing EPC services or exporting equipment. Sanfeng Environment is a prime example. Recently, the Serafphin WtE project in Hanoi, Vietnam, for which Sanfeng Covanta was responsible for design, equipment supply, construction supervision, commissioning tests, and acceptance, successfully achieved grid connection in one attempt and realized full-load operation. Commenting market expansion overseas, Sanfeng Environment stated that as the domestic industry matures, expanding the international solid waste management market and accelerating market layouts in regions along the Belt and Road Initiative are essential to ensure the company's sustainable development. The company is leveraging overseas equipment export business to drive the expansion of overseas engineering service. Meanwhile, under the precondition of effective risk control and policy compliance, it will also invest selectively in suitable high-quality overseas projects. International business is expected to be one of the main growth drivers of Sanfeng Environment in the coming years.

Riding the momentum of the Belt and Road initiative, Chinese WTE enterprises have launched a new wave of market competition in Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and even Africa. However, as we all know, the world's wealthiest regions remain Europe, North America, and Oceania. The question remains — Can Chinese WTE companies take one step further in their global journey? The world is watching — and the answer is yet to come.