Silkeborg Forsyning

What Silkeborg Forsyning does

Silkeborg Forsyning A/S is a municipal multi-utility company owned by Silkeborg Kommune in central Denmark, operating through five wholly-owned subsidiaries: Silkeborg Varme A/S (district heating), Silkeborg Vand A/S (drinking water), Silkeborg Spildevand A/S (wastewater), Silkeborg Genbrug og Affald A/S (waste and recycling), and Silkeborg Forsyning Erhverv A/S (commercial services). The company provides four integrated utility services to approximately 58,000 district heating customers and the wider Silkeborg Municipality: drinking water supply from groundwater sources, wastewater collection across 1,300+ km of sewer mains and 11 treatment plants, district heating production and distribution, and household waste collection, sorting and recycling. Production assets include the Silkeborg Kraftvarmeværk combined heat and power plant (108 MW electric / 225 MW heat, commissioned 1995), the world's largest solar thermal plant at Sejling Hede (156,694 m², 12,436 collectors, ~80,000 MWh/year), a 30 MW (2015) and 50 MW (2022) electric boiler, plus a newly commissioned 22 MW air-to-water heat pump and a 20 MW biomass boiler burning garden/park waste (both 2025). Revenue streams are tariff-regulated subscription recurring charges (heating, water, wastewater, waste) plus transactional fees (Unit+ heating-unit rental at 215 DKK/month, garden-waste collection subscription, soil reception at 140 DKK/ton for the Støjdragen project) and ancillary B2B services. Customer acquisition in newly converted gas areas is field-driven through door-to-door campaigns, local events, screening visits, and a guarantee scheme, while baseline service delivery is conducted via a MitID-authenticated self-service portal (minForsyning), an Affald Online waste-services portal, SMS operational alerts, and four physical recycling centers. The customer base is essentially locked-in by physical infrastructure (pipes, grid connections) and the underlying municipal regulatory franchise.

Name

Silkeborg Forsyning

Legal name

Silkeborg Forsyning A/S

Website

https://silkeborgforsyning.dk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Silkeborg Forsyning is a municipal multi-utility company owned by Silkeborg Kommune, providing district heating, drinking water, wastewater treatment, and waste/recycling services to approximately 58,000 households across Silkeborg Municipality in Denmark.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Silkeborg

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. District heating (fjernvarme): Revenue from supplying district heating to ~58,000 consumers in Silkeborg Municipality. Tariffs include a fixed connection fee and variable consumption-based charges. New connections in conversion areas carry a one-time tilslutningspris (connection price). The Unit+ subscription model provides an alternative to upfront purchase of heating units.
2. Drinking water supply: Revenue from supplying drinking water to households and businesses in Silkeborg Municipality, based on consumption and fixed tariffs.
3. Wastewater treatment: Revenue from wastewater collection and treatment services, charged via tariffs to connected households and businesses.
4. Waste and recycling collection: Revenue from household waste collection services, including residual waste, food waste, paper/cardboard, glass/metal, and plastic/MDK collection. Charged via municipal tariffs. Garden waste collection available as an optional add-on for a fee.
5. Unit+ heating unit subscription: Subscription rental of a district heating unit (unit) at 215 kr/month. Includes delivery, installation, service, and maintenance. Customers avoid a large upfront cost (25,000–30,000 kr purchase price). Available to customers in gas conversion areas.
6. Unit purchase (Køb selv): One-time sale of district heating units to customers who prefer to own rather than rent. Unit purchase price of 23,500 kr.
7. Soil/earthen embankment (Støjdragen Katla): Revenue from receiving and processing soil at the Støjdragen noise barrier project. Soil suppliers pay a fee (140 kr/ton from April 2026) to deliver soil that meets environmental approval standards for use in constructing the noise barrier.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Silkeborg Forsyning is the municipal multi-utility for Silkeborg Kommune, providing district heating (fjernvarme) to approximately 58,000 consumers, drinking water supply, wastewater collection and treatment across 11 treatment plants and 1,300+ km of sewers, and household waste collection, sorting, recycling, and disposal. Services are delivered through a holding structure of wholly owned subsidiaries (Silkeborg Varme A/S, Silkeborg Vand A/S, Silkeborg Spildevand A/S, Silkeborg Genbrug og Affald A/S, and Silkeborg Forsyning Erhverv A/S) and supported by the minForsyning self-service portal, the Unit+ heating-unit rental subscription, and a guarantee scheme for households transitioning from natural gas to district heating.

Product overview

Silkeborg Forsyning is a multi-utility company operating as a holding structure with subsidiaries: Silkeborg Forsyning A/S, Silkeborg Varme A/S, Silkeborg Genbrug og Affald A/S, Silkeborg Spildevand A/S, Silkeborg Vand A/S, and Silkeborg Forsyning Erhverv A/S. The company provides four core services: waste management and recycling (Genbrug og Affald), drinking water supply (Drikkevand), wastewater treatment (Spildevand), and district heating (Fjernvarme). The district heating service, serving approximately 58,000 consumers, includes the Unit⁺ subscription for renting heating units and a Garantiordning guarantee scheme. Customer self-service is provided through minForsyning portal, SMS notifications, and Affald Online. The company also operates several large infrastructure facilities including the Silkeborg Kraftvarmeværk (combined heat and power plant), the world's largest solar thermal plant, a 22 MW heat pump, and a 20 MW biomass boiler. Additionally, the company is building the Støjvolden Katla noise barrier and organizing the Skraldival recycling festival.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Unit⁺: A subscription service for district heating where customers rent a district heating unit for a fixed monthly amount (215 DKK per month).
• minForsyning
• Affald Online

Products and services

• Fjernvarme (District Heating) Climate-friendly district heating supplied through a municipal network to approximately 58,000 residential and commercial consumers in Silkeborg Municipality, produced via a hybrid portfolio of CHP, solar thermal, electric boilers, heat pump, and biomass facilities.
• Drikkevand (Drinking Water Supply) Drinking water supply service including water-quality management, waterworks operations (Hvinningdal and Gudenå among others), and crisis-supply planning for households and businesses in Silkeborg Municipality.
• Spildevand (Wastewater Treatment and Sewerage) Wastewater collection and treatment service covering 11 treatment plants and 1,300+ km of sewers, treating more than 6.5 million m³ of wastewater annually. Includes sewer connection, septic tank emptying, and reduced wastewater payment programs.
• Genbrug og Affald (Household Waste Collection and Recycling) Municipal household waste collection, sorting, recycling, and disposal service for all households in Silkeborg Municipality, including curbside collection of sorted fractions, operation of recycling centers (genbrugspladser), and dedicated treatment streams (residual waste to incineration with energy recovery; food waste to biogas and fertilizer; paper/textile, glass/metal, plastic/MDK to recycling).
• Unit+ (District Heating Unit Subscription) Subscription service enabling residential customers in gas-conversion areas to rent a fully maintained and serviced district heating unit for 215 kr/month instead of purchasing one outright for approximately 23,500–30,000 kr; includes delivery, installation, removal of the existing gas boiler, service, and replacement.
• Garantiordning (Guarantee Scheme) Automatic guarantee scheme for households signing up for district heating in gas-conversion areas: covers repair of existing primary heating sources (gas boilers up to 30 kW, oil boilers up to 30 kW, pellet boilers up to 30 kW, heat pumps up to 20 kW, hot water tanks, circulation pumps) for a customer co-payment of 2,500 kr per repair.
• Haveaffald (Garden Waste Collection Subscription) Optional subscription-based garden waste collection service for households, providing 240-liter or 370–400-liter containers emptied 8 times per year from March to November, with collected waste converted to district heating and free compost available to residents.
• Farligt Affald / Rød Miljøkasse (Hazardous Waste Collection) Free doorstep hazardous-waste collection service for households using red environmental boxes (max 4 kg per box), accepting spray cans, paint residues, batteries, electronics, light bulbs, and similar small-quantity household hazardous waste; collected by doorstep swap.
• Tekstilaffald (Textile Waste Collection) Household textile waste collection service launched in September 2023, collecting damaged, holey, and worn-out clothing and textiles in transparent 30-liter bags placed in paper/cardboard containers for sorting and recycling by Stena Recycling in Aarhus.

Quantifiable outcome

• CO2e reduced by 25% in one year (2024–2025), from ~98,000 to 73,807 ton CO2e
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Munck Forsyningsledninger A/ScoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 29 June 2026Munck Forsyningsledninger A/S is the contractor responsible for the excavation and laying of district heating pipes in Voel. They were selected for their experience with major infrastructure projects in urban areas and recent experience from the Resenbro and Skærbæk district heating project.
• Østermark EntreprenørcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 October 2023Østermark Entreprenør was contracted in October 2023 to construct all buildings for both the heat pump and biomass boiler plants. All building structures were erected simultaneously from October 2023 to February 2025.
• M.J. ErikssonminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 12 June 2023Contractor that provided equipment (excavator) for the ground-breaking ceremony of the new production plants in June 2023. Primarily mentioned in the context of the ceremonial first dig.
• Innoterm EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Innoterm Energy delivered the 22 MW air-to-water heat pump plant in January 2023. The heat pump extracts heat from ambient air and transfers it to the district heating network, forming a key pillar of the green transition away from natural gas.
• Dall EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2022Dall Energy delivered the 20 MW biomass boiler for Silkeborg Forsyning's green district heating transition. The boiler is uniquely designed to burn garden and park waste (have- og parkbrændsel) rather than traditional wood chips or pellets, representing a novel approach to biomass heating. The contract was signed in December 2022.
• Stena RecyclingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStena Recycling in Aarhus receives and sorts textile waste collected together with paper/cardboard from households in Silkeborg Municipality.
• Silkeborg BibliotekerneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSilkeborg Bibliotekerne (Silkeborg Libraries) co-organizes the annual Skraldival recycling festival together with Silkeborg Municipality and Silkeborg Forsyning. The festival promotes waste prevention, reuse, and environmental awareness.
• Silkeborg KommunecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSilkeborg Municipality is both the owner of Silkeborg Forsyning and a co-organizer of the Skraldival festival. The municipality's Climate Plan 2045 targets are a key driver for district heating expansion. The Støjdragen Katla project is built by Silkeborg Forsyning on behalf of the municipality.
• CowiminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEngineering consultancy mentioned as a project partner in the district heating green transition, specifically in relation to the development of new production plants.
• Added ValuesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConsultancy mentioned as a project partner in the development of new production plants for district heating.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Kredslø: Circular-resource utility in Roskilde and surrounding municipalities handling water, wastewater, district heating, and waste/recycling. Directly comparable integrated municipal utility model and service portfolio.
• Aarhus Vand: Municipal water and wastewater utility for Aarhus, one of Denmark's largest water utilities. Directly comparable water supply and wastewater treatment operations, though lacks district heating and waste services.
• DIN Forsyning: Multi-utility serving Esbjerg, Varde and Fanø municipalities with water, wastewater, district heating, and waste management. Directly comparable integrated municipal utility structure and service breadth to Silkeborg Forsyning.
• Vestforbrænding: Waste-to-energy company serving multiple Copenhagen-area municipalities, combining waste incineration with district heating and electricity production. Comparable integrated waste-and-heat business model.
• Forsyning Helsingør: Municipal utility serving Helsingør with water, wastewater, district heating, and waste services. Comparable integrated municipal utility model, though at smaller scale than Silkeborg Forsyning.
• Trefor: Multi-utility in the Kolding/Trekantsområdet region providing electricity, district heating, fiber, water, and EV charging under the Norlys group. Comparable integrated utility portfolio and Danish regional scale.
• Fjernvarme Fyn: District heating transmission company on Funen serving multiple municipal heating utilities. Comparable in district heating focus and Danish municipal-utility customer base.
• Verdo: Green energy and utility company based in Randers providing district heating, electricity, and fiber. Comparable in district heating production focus and Danish regional energy utility profile; less breadth in water/wastewater.
• HOFOR: Largest multi-utility in the Copenhagen metropolitan area, providing drinking water, wastewater, district heating, cooling, and city gas. Closest direct peer due to similar integrated water/heating/wastewater portfolio and regulated municipal utility model.
• Skanderborg Forsyning: Multi-utility in neighboring Skanderborg Municipality providing water, wastewater, district heating, and waste services. Highly comparable in scale, service mix, and Jutland-Funen regional municipal utility model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Silkeborg Forsyning