RECOVER international n. 30

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Paper and plastics recovery at the innovative waste selection plant in Granarolo dell’Emilia

RECYCLING Expo 2015: propagation of recycling culture and circular economy at the universal exposition

REMEDIATION Concordia wreck: the italian project plan for decommissioning

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‘ECO’ CHANGES, GIVING LIFE TO ‘RECOVER’

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Cars are restyled, computer programs appear in new

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versions, buildings are renovated ... after a while everything needs changes and improvements. And Paper and plastics recovery at the innovative waste selection plant in Granarolo dell’Emilia

Within our editorial staff, we have always believed in the need for a steady growth and this is why since the birth of Eco in 2008 we have started a process

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after seven years, it’s finally our time!

RECYCLING

Expo 2015: propagation of recycling culture and circular economy at the universal exposition

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of enhancement, thus reaffirming the presence of our periodical in fairs and exhibitions, organizing conferences and combining the printed paper with new mobile accessibility tools such as ecoera.it, ecoera app and pages on social networks.

‘ECO’ is now coming with a new look and a new name, RECOVER, maintaining its historical name root while giving it a deeper meaning, thus becoming the beating heart of the magazine. RECOVER means recovery of

Concordia wreck: the italian project plan for decommissioning

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RECOVER international I Semester – March 2015 Supplement 1 Issue 30 www.recoverweb.it

Contents NEWS 4 What opportunities does the Russian market offer?

Massimo Viarenghi

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Top trends in Energy & Environment markets in 2015

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Made in Italy oriented plan

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The event of the year dedicated to heavy equipment is approaching Maria Beatrice Celino

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international RECOVER, the English version intended for distribution in the major trade shows around the

Expo 2015: propagating recycling culture and circular economy

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materials, brownfields, areas requiring remediation. A new name for confirming the journal identity in the areas that we represent most and that represent us most: recycling, remediation and decommissioning.

But the changes are not over ... with this first issue of

world, we explore the scene abroad, giving the Italian companies the opportunity to increase their visibility beyond the borders of our country.

Winston Churchill said “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often”… We have had the courage to change, to renew ourselves in order to always be the point of reference in the publishing industry while distinguishing from those who believe in opposition to progress and consolidation. Well, we

Maeva Brunero Bronzin

Laura Veneri

Bruno Vanzi

Concordia wreck decommissioning project 24 Massimo Viarenghi

Supersized smart plant in Granarolo dell’Emilia 27 Maria Beatrice Celino

Italian public utilities: resources to be developed Maeva Brunero Bronzin

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don’t expect to be perfect, but we hope that change

FOCUS 30

is synonymous with improvement. However, it is now

EVENTS 32

up to you to judge. So, enjoy your reading!

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O N T E N T S Pros and Cons of the Russian market and high potential for internationalization of the Italian companies

8 Frost & Sullivan’s predictions on Top trends in Energy & Environment markets for 2015

The event of the year dedicated to heavy equipment is approaching: INTERMAT will be back in Paris from 20 April. Let’s find out all its innovations and news!

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Translations: Franchino Valeria - C.so IV Novembre, 16 I-10136 Torino email: franchino@innovalang.eu Subscriptions: Italy € 40,00/year - Abroad € 75,00/year Single copy € 12,00 - Back issues € 14,00/each For subscriptions, email your request to: info@deaedizioni.it

Year 8 - Supplement 1 - Issue 30 - March 2015 Editor in Chief: Massimo Viarenghi Commercial Manager: Maria Beatrice Celino Editorial Coordination: Maeva Brunero Bronzin

Liability: the duplication of illustrations and articles published by the magazine is confidential and cannot occur without express authorization by the Publisher. Texts and pictures sent to the editorial staff will not be returned, even if not published, and the Publisher does not assume liability in the case of unique specimens. The Publisher does not assume liability in cases of possible mistakes contained in the articles published or of mistakes made when delivering them on the magazine.

Staff: Maria Beatrice Celino, Bruno Vanzi, Laura Veneri Technical Review Committee: Maria Rosaria Boni (Sapienza University of Rome) Daniele Cazzuffi (Cesi spa – Remtech) Laura D’Aprile (ISPRA, Rome) Ennio Forte (University of Naples) Luciano Morselli (University of Bologna) Andrea Quaranta (Environmental Legal Expert) Gian Luigi Soldi (Metropolitan City of Turin) Federico Vagliasindi (University of Catania) Maria Chiara Zanetti (Polytechnic University of Turin)

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Subscription is 100% deductible. For deducting the cost for tax purposes, the payment receipt applies in accordance with (Presidential Decree 12/22/86 No. 917, Articles 50 and 75). Keep your coupon/ receipt: it is appropriate and sufficient to document any accounting effect. Additional receipts or invoices for payments to postal account will not issued in any case. Bimonthly publication. Poste Italiane Spa - Postal subscription service, Legislative Decree 353/2003 converted into Law 46/2004, art. 1, § 1 - registered at the Court of Turin on October 19, 2009 with No. 56. According to Legislative Decree 196 / 2003, we inform you that your personal data will be exclusively used for sending periodicals by DEA edizioni s.a.s.. By calling or writing to our editorial staff, you can exercise all the rights under Article 7 of Legislative Decree No. 196/2003.

Art direction and Design: Roberto Fatiga - email: grafica.advespa@gmail.com Publishing: Tipografica Derthona Strada Vicinale Ribrocca 6/5 - 15057 TORTONA (AL)

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NEWS TERRA DEI FUOCHI: WHERE ARE WE NOW? In 2014, after many years of complaints by both the citizens of the area surrounding Naples and Caserta, and the public associations for the defense of the territory, the resolution ‘Terra dei Fuochi’ (literal-

ties, giving the citizens all the information required.”

So, in order to continue to fight against environmental illegality and promote protection of the lands in the Campania region, citizens’ complaints or the activism of associations such as Legambiente are not enough, but there is a need - and duty - to implement effective rules in a practical way for defending the territory against mafia defacement.

Italy leads the way for WEEE processing plants

ly ‘Land of Fires’) was approved and adopted for the environment protection and health of those who live in the areas invaded by pollution. In spite of this, few things seem to be changed after one year following the approval of the bill. In the dossier ‘Terra dei fuochi: where are we now?’, there is the complaint on how so many sites and municipalities affected by the illegal disposal of toxic waste are still found to be highly at risk while other areas have not yet been subjected to detailed analyses. An area of 57 municipalities having more than 1,000 contaminated sites is involved.

Not only the analyses and disposals are still at the starting point, but also reclamations follow the same route: out of more than 2,000 contaminated sites in the area called ‘Litorale Domitio Flegreo-Agro Aversano’, only 0.2% were decontaminated (or are being decontaminated), while 21.5% were characterized and analyzed, and finally no activity has been carried out yet for about 74%. These delays are mainly due to the presence of permanent eco-mafia disturbances that continue to affect the territory around Naples. In 2014, the phenomenon of fires - 2,531 in the past year only - remains a major problem to control, although decreasing. Michele Buonomo, President of Legambiente Campania (a regional branch of the Italian environmentalist association Legambiente) says: “In the land of fires, a revolutionary action is needed to return clarity and transparency on the conditions of contamination of this area, including soil and groundwater, in particular to arrange the appropriate measures for remediation and fight against illegal activi-

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Italy is the leader in Europe of a network of excellence for the management of electronic waste (WEEE) and leads the European certification list of those facilities that treat such waste: 10 out of 30 plants that obtained the certification of excellence are based in Italy. The five consortiums that manage a total of more than 80% of WEEE generated in Italy (Ecodom, Ecolight, ERP Italy, RAEcycle and Remedia) have joined the project WEEELABEX for creating rules and uniform standards across Europe in the management and processing of waste of electric and electronic equipment.

After one year, 82 plants in Europe have started the certification process, 30% of which (24 plants) relates to Italian facilities. The accreditation process according to the WEEELABEX standards is long and complex: 30 facilities, 10 set in Italy, have got the certification so far.

The WEEELABEX (WEEE LABoratory of EXcellence) project was conceived by the WEEE Forum. This multi-stakeholder project - also financially supported by EU under the Life+ program - aimed at laying down a set of European standards with respect to collection, handling, storage, recycling, preparation for re-use and disposal of WEEE, and monitoring the

processing companies through audits conducted by auditors trained at the WEEELABEX Office. This auditing process, started in April last year, is leading Italy to be the European country with the largest number of WEEELABEX-accredited facilities.

The goal of the five Italian consortiums is to create a network of excellence, guaranteed and certified throughout Europe.

Over 5,000 GWh from WTE

45 incineration plants, 7.3 million tons of waste per year, 3,045 MW of thermal capacity, and 848 MW of installed heat capacity. These are the numbers mentioned in the ISPRA-Federambiente report about ‘Energy recovery from municipal waste in Italy’, a survey which shows the scenario of the industrial system for energy recovery from MSW throughout the country.

In 2013, over 5,000 GWh of energy from waste (4,193 GWh of electricity and 1,508 GWh of thermal energy) were obtained in Italy, sufficient amounts to meet the needs of cities like Turin and Naples, and since that time there have no longer been incineration plants without energy recovery on our soil.

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NEWS As for plant technologies and environmental performance, we are keeping the pace with the most advanced European countries, even if in these countries the percentages for all forms of waste management differ from ours. The data gathered certainly show that incineration should not be seen as a treatment to oppose the recycling processes, in fact countries like Germany or the Netherlands where the incineration reaches 35% and 49%, respectively, simultaneously show percentage of 65% and 50% of waste for recycling.

From the plant engineering perspective, some information emerge. The Italian facilities have a quite low average treatment capacity, corresponding to about 490 t/d, related for 49% to the fractions derived from the treatment of municipal waste (SSF, dry fraction), followed by unsorted MSW which account for 44%, while special waste (including the sanitary type), account for the remaining ±7.0%.

ASBESTOS: 135 MILLION FOR REMEDIATION 135 million Euros: this is the amount scheduled by the Law of Stability to accelerate the asbestos reclamation in the seven most problematic Italian sites, which funds will be allocated in the period from 2015 to 2017 and that represent “a sign of real solidarity for those communities that live this dramatic situation, and the confirmation of responsibility of the state for environmental remediation. The work required to remove

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all this poisoning asbestos from Italy will be inevitably long and careful, given the widespread distribution of this material. But we’ve started, and we want to go ahead with seriousness” (Gian Luca Galletti, Minister of Environment).

The appropriations will be allocated first in the North (Casale Monferrato), for a total of 65 million Euros: 25 million in 2015 and about 19,750 for the next two years. In the South, instead, the Law of Stability has earmarked over 10 million Euros for Bagnoli, approximately 5 million and 250 thousand Euros for 2016 and the same amount for 2017. The remaining 70 million will be allocated, in the three years, for particularly urgent remediation works, distributed as follows: 19.2 million for the SIN of Broni in Lombardy, 14 million and 600 thousand Euros for Balangero (Piedmont), 13 million and 600 thousand for Emarese (Val d’Aosta), 12 million for Biancavilla in Sicily, and 568 thousand Euros for the SIN of Bari (Fibronit area).

Amsterdam: the anti-pollution platform completely made in Italy On March 26, the new IT platform for managing pollution control operations in the port of Taranto was presented at Interspill, the conference and exhibition held in Amsterdam last month. MLV, created by the Italian company CLE based in Bari, is a platform capable of planning, controlling and coordinating in real time all activities conducted in the prevention and emergency response whenever environmental accidents occur at sea. It is used to efficiently coordinate resources (tugboats, mother ships, groundbased machines), skilled personnel, logistic support facilities (warehouses) and materials (chemical dispersants, barriers and skimmers for aspiration of pollutants at sea), in conjunction with the Coast Guard, the Civil Protection Department and the Ministry of Environment. For fighting against the marine pollution caused by accidents, the platform embeds a variety of tools, from ordinary to infraredultraviolet cameras, from weather stations to marine traffic control services. Mariarosaria Scherillo, sole director of CLE - over 40 employees, based in Bari and with a branch in Milan - says: “The specificity of the platform relates to intervention optimization, thus providing an information tool that is essential to control the activities and coordinate all those involved in the actions.” CLE took three years to develop the platform, which can be used at sea but also along rivers, coastlines and lakes. At present, about 10 global players in this sector, including companies, port authorities and companies

processes. Franco Zanata adds: “This project represents a great opportunity to further reduce the amount of non-recyclable waste. In fact, 350 kg of cellulose and 150 kg of plastics may be obtained from 1 ton of waste.”

The newly started project includes treating 1,500 tons of waste at the corporate premises in Spresiano, a savings of 1,950 cubic meters of material in landfills, and a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in the air of 618,000 kg/year.

Contarina President also says: “Taking part in this important European project concretely demonstrates our efforts in implementing more advanced processes of waste sorting, thus improving the levels of recovery of recyclable material. In this case, we have gone above and beyond: we can also recycle those products considered ‘non-recyclable’, such as sanitary napkins and diapers, from which we can still recover cellulose and plastics.”

that manage antipollution services at sea, in particular in Australia, Brazil and the Persian Gulf, are interested in this innovation. Ecotaras, the company involved in the pollution control actions in the port of Taranto, is already using the platform created by CLE. Francesco Argento, CEO of Ecotaras, states: “We had a management complexity of resources and men, both during ordinary intervention and in critical cases, but with ‘MLV we’ve now achieved an organizational standard capable of always giving us the real situation of the intervention conditions, as well as a constant evaluation of resources. This provides a significant advantage in terms of time and cost optimization.”

The challenge is to eliminate the disposal of absorbent products: at national level - as Fater points out - the absorbent products correspond to about 900 thousand tons of unsorted waste that mostly ends up in landfills (70%), but in the whole province of Treviso they represent about 27% of nonrecyclable waste.

After confirmation of the pilot test, now the aim is to attest the validity of this innovative recycling process even on an industrial scale. The potential of this unique facility, in fact, is huge: the system at full speed can treat up to 8,000 tons of waste per year, serving a population of 800 thousand people.

THE innovative European plan for recycling sanitary napkins and diapers In late March, the innovative system managed by Contarina for the recycling of absorbent products has been launched. The facility has been created within the ‘Recall’ project, supported by the European Union and in collaboration with Fater SpA, the Municipality of Ponte nelle Alpi (the first in Italy to join the initiative), and the Research Institute ‘Ambiente Italia’.

Franco Zanata, president of the company, says: “This new system is for Contarina and for all users a further and important step in achieving the challenging goal of also recycling the non-recyclable material, which is the focus of our policies for waste management, inspired by eco-sustainability and maximum efficiency.”

This innovative system allows to recycle sanitary napkins, adult/baby diapers and other absorbent products for the individual, obtaining high quality plastics and cellulose (the so-called ‘secondary raw materials’) to be reused in new production

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What opportunities does the Russian market offer?

The Pros and Cons of a market with high potential for the internationalization of the Italian companies Massimo Viarenghi

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taly is the second largest trading partner of Russia in Europe (following Germany) and the fourth in the world. According to ISTAT/ Eurostat, in 2013, Italian exports to the Russian Federation reached their historic high, with 10.8 billion Euros.

However, the trade balance is still quite negative, due to our imports from Russia (20 billion Euros), mainly of hydrocarbons and raw materials.

The uncertainty related to the solution of the Ukrainian crisis, the sanctions and retaliatory measures adopted by the European Union and Russia, respectively, have increased the country risk of the Federation and determined a temporary worsening of political relations. At the same time, however, the ban on imports of food would encourage local production.

Italian companies permanently present on the Russian ground are over 400, of which about 70 having production plants. There have been significant investments in the energy sector (where, in addition to the traditional role of ENI, the activity of ENEL also stands out) and major industries in high-tech sectors such as aerospace and telecommunications (Finmeccanica), household appliances (Indesit, Candy and Merloni), agri-food (Ferrero, Cremonini) and others (Iveco, Pirelli and Gruppo Marcegaglia). The presence of Italian banks in the Federation is quite important as well, currently eight in number, capable of assisting companies in all stages of their involvement in the Russian market, inclu-

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ding the steps of start-up. The measures taken by the EU in the financial field in order to limit the Russian public banks accessing the international credit may adversely affect long-term investments, with possible direct consequences on imports of Italian machinery.

The perception of ‘Made in Italy’ by the Russian public is mainly connected to the agri-food sector, fashion, design and our top levels in other fields - machinery, technology, intermediate industrial goods - being about 50% of our exports to the Russian Federation. On the Russian market, Italy is damaged

by Chinese counterfeiting of low-tech capital goods and low-end consumer goods, as well as by the almost total absence of Italian companies in the field of mass commercial distribution.

The Italian institutional system supporting businesses is well branched and works according a unified approach of close cooperation. Since 2013, the logistics integration of ICE, ENIT, Confindustria Russa and Sace has been noticed. In close collaboration with the Italian Embassy, the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce - which has recently marked 50 years since its founding - Promos and Finest also operate.

Top reasons why to invest in Russia

Russia is the leading supplier of energy products worldwide, but has an industrial base and a primary sector relatively undeveloped; Italy,

on the contrary, does not have the raw materials but offers large and diversified manufacturing sector and agribusiness. This is a complementarity between the two production systems that allows the two countries to be natural economic and trade partners. The complementarity is reflected not only in the trade balance, but also in a number of joint ventures that promote technology transfer.

In the 2000-2008 period, the Russian GDP experienced an average increase of about 8% per year. After the 2009 crisis, the Russian economy started to grow again at a slower pace than in the previous years, but however with higher rates than those occurred in Western countries. GDP increased by 4.3% in 2010 and 2011, 3.5% in 2012, 1.3% in 2013. Despite this slowdown, the growth potential of the country in the long run remains high, as evidenced by the continuous and significant improvement of the ‘Doing Business’ index in the past three years.

The modernization of the economic system is a priority of the Federation authorities. This does not apply to some key high-tech sectors only, but also to infrastructures, where modifications are essential for the development of the country. Therefore, there are collaboration opportunities for Italian companies in several fields. Finally, food-trade restriction measures approved by the Russian government in response to the European sanctions may be an incentive

for the development of the agribusiness of the Federation.

Russian people greatly appreciate the Italian products. ‘Made in Italy’ here stands for quality, not only in the traditional fields of clothing, food and interior design, but also in capital, industrial (machinery and mechanics) and high-tech goods. More in general, the Russian world highly like our country, especially due to historical and cultural issues, and this can be an actual advantage in terms of economic and trade cooperation.

Over 80 territorial authorities form the Federation (autonomous republics and regions) and compete with one another to attract investments from abroad. There are about twenty Special Economic Zones (SEZs) at federal level, which provide the investing companies with tax, customs and administrative incentives. Similar zones have been established locally. Various Italian companies have already successfully developed the

opportunities offered by SEZs (for example, in the Lipetsk region, 440 km south of Moscow).

FIELDS OF INTEREST

The main sector of the Russian economy is ‘Oil & Gas’. The Federation has indeed the world’s largest reserves of gas being thus the leading exporter of this resource. Russia is the eighth holder in the world of oil reserves, the world’s leading exporter of oil, and the first/second producer: in 2013, a record production was continuously noticed - over the threshold of 10 million barrels a day - while confirming the importance of exploration and potential exploitation of Arctic resources, and of the attraction of foreign investments and technology for the future of the Russian mining industry. Revenues from the ‘Oil & Gas’ area represent about 40% of the national budget and 68% of exports. Therefore, it is worth noting the strong dependence of the

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Russian economy from the energy sector and the strategic importance that Moscow attaches to the stability of relations with energy consumers.

The Italian-Russian cooperation in the energy field goes back to the late ‘50s and, in recent times, has evolved from the established business relationship to an industrial partnership based on a closer interconnection.

Enel is the first Italian investor in Russia engaged in generating electricity through Enel OGK-5 and selling energy through RusEnergoSbyt.

Eni is the first European customer of Gazprom, participates in the Blue Stream gas pipeline and in the South Stream project, and has reached a strategic cooperation agreement with Rosneft, aimed at exploring two offshore blocks in the Barents Sea and one in the Black Sea, exchanging technologies, and involving Rosneft in Eni’s international projects.

Saipem has participated in the construction of the North Stream.

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With regard to the field of mechanical engineering, the Russian market has interesting opportunities that require technological renovation and upgrading to follow up the federal development programs for the domestic manufacturing industry.

Within this segment, good prospects stand out, especially at regional level, for the supply of technology to the industries of food and wood processing (furniture and accessories for the construction industry). It is also confirmed the viability of the engineering, electric power production, petrochemical, and plastic/rubber article and material manufacturing industries. Finally, there is a consolidation of the portion of suppliers of Italian industrial groups with their own production facilities in Russia.

The development of domestic and foreign investments, including those in the Special Economic Zones, sug-

gests a continuous dynamic demand for equipment and machinery even in the near future. In this regard, it should be noted that the local industry does not seem to be able to compete with foreign suppliers, including those from Italy, in most of the specializations of mechanical engineering. The development programs for alternative productions in place of usual imports will inevitably be focused only on those which are the most strictly necessary for the heavy industry complex, specifically in energy, transport and military supply sectors. From the point of view of the operating procedures, as in the past, the critical issues mainly felt by the Italian suppliers are the construction of efficient technical assistance networks and the management of the flows of spare parts, accessories and components. Hence, for the companies of capital goods

WASTE MANAGEMENT IN RUSSIA The Russian Federation produces about 4.5 billion tons of waste each year in an area of about 13 million square kilometers.

The width of the available spaces is the main cause that makes recycling a practice almost unused; in fact 95% of waste is disposed of in landfills.

Russia has about a thousand landfills which, according to a recent report of IFC, can cover 4 million hectares of space, more than the combination of The Netherlands and Switzerland areas.

Each year another 400,000 hectares are taken over for landfilling, mostly with few controls and safeguards, meaning that, each year in Russia, a country (more or less) sized as Luxembourg is covered with waste.

Waste processing plants are nearly non-existent, while there are several incinerators: Moscow offers three facilities, while there are about 500 mobile incineration plants in 85 regions of the Russian Federation.

Therefore, while many economically developed countries are trying to raise their recycling levels to 50% or more, either to achieve EU targets or to reduce their CO2 emissions, for example, such huge landmasses like Russia still have no control over their waste management.

A federal law is now being drafted. Starting from 2017, it will place a ban on disposal and thus the obligation of recycling for certain types of waste. Some minor steps in this direction seems appear; for example, in the Ivanovo region, the construction of a waste processing plant has begun and will be completed by 2015. The plant capacity is of 120,000 tons/year and different fractions are expected to be separated by means of this treatment, especially for reuse purposes, including polyester granules. The total cost of the facility should be of about 180 million rubles. The whole region produces about 400,000 tons/year of waste therefore, following the construction of this first plant, there will be other investments with the aim of creating a closed waste collection, treatment and reuse system.

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sector, the development directions of the presence must look primarily to these services to be able to respond quickly to the needs of users. Hence, for the companies belonging to the capital goods sector, the development directions aimed at the local presence must primarily consider these services for being capable of quickly meeting the users’ needs. In addition, particular attention should be paid to technological development programs for local industries and to the spaces created by the transition from pure research to its incorporation into efficient technology products, for which functional networks and turning points are not always available in this country, thus often requiring the cooperation of foreign partners with specific skills in this field.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

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Top trends in Energy & Environment markets in 2015 Frost & Sullivan’s predictions on the innovations that will impact on these sectors Maeva Brunero Bronzin

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he first months of the year are typically the time when settling accounts and drawing up reports which capture market developments, achievements, trends and emerging interests. The areas of green economy can hardly feel excluded from this attention, in fact in Italy there are many documents and publications that provide a perfect picture of 2014 and, although generalization often leads to errors, it is possible to assert that those sectors related to the green economy have now acquired a strategic position for the Italian economy.

Although the green economy is threatened by a number of difficulties, it resists and searches for those conditions to consolidate the results, especially in the Italian economic and regulatory scenario, thus contributing not only to improve the environment but also to develop a business network mostly formed by small and mediumsized enterprises.

Therefore, after having a look at 2014 and at the Italian situation, we turn to Jonathan Robinson, Senior Consultant at Frost & Sullivan for the Energy, Environment & Building Technologies areas, in order to point out the main trends for 2015 from a global perspective.

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Mr. Robinson, what are your predictions about this year’s innovations that could have the most impact on environment and energy?

Well, the oil price is a factor in a number of the other trends, although our argument is that it is far less important than many people might think. At Frost & Sullivan we feel that some of the technology-focused trends could have a major impact - LED Lighting will transform that industry and gradually impact us all directly as we all need it.

‘IoT-Enabled Smart Buildings’ means that technology will facilitate a series of incremental changes that cumulati-

vely have a very significant impact for the environment in terms of lower carbon emissions.

Regarding the decline in the price of oil, do you feel that this factor may adversely affect innovation and investment in the green economy industries?

We are reasonable optimistic that the green economy can continue to grow with the lower oil prices (two of our trends, Resilience of Renewables and New Clean Tech focus on this). This is partly because the oil price is volatile and is likely to increase again in the longer-term, but also that many countries have existing supportive policies for environmental technologies and recognize the danger to the future of the planet by inaction.

According to your predictions, which countries will be those most affected by these innovations?

The list really varies depending on the trend. We have from the extreme given by the oil price which impacts everywhere to desalination which is very regionalized around the Middle East and Africa. In general, the technology-focused trends such as IoTenabled Smart Buildings and X-as-aService will impact on more developed economies first, because the business and regulatory climate is ready for them.

Can the innovations that you identified have positive effects on the environment, or do some of them have negative consequences in the short or medium term?

Well, the lower oil price is negative - it

will lead to an increased consumption of oil and could slow down the efforts to improve energy efficiency globally.

Nuclear power can be positive and negative - some environmentalists see it

as dangerous for the planet, others as a viable way of cutting carbon emissions. But the majority are positive for the environment - renewables, clean tech and decentralized energy should

all act to curb pollution, LED Lighting and IoT-Enabled Smart Buildings are examples of technology innovations that should reduce the carbon footprint of buildings.

Top 15 for 15

ticularly marked in Europe and Asia, where gas supply contacts are linked to the price of oil. This will herald a resurgence of gas-fired generation in Europe, where many plants have been mothballed or running at low hours – a welcome boost to the beleaguered power plant services industry. It will also spur greater investments in gas assets as private equity firms begin to take an interest.

technologies as well as being backed by social innovation initiatives that not only address wastewater treatment, water reuse and recycling but also generate renewable energy.

New Clean Tech

With cutting pollution in China a key political priority and the US prepared to take steps to reduce its emissions, 2015 has the potential to see a deal struck at the UN Climate Conference in Paris. A combination of legislative pressure and declining technology costs will see Clean Tech enjoy continued strong growth.

Oil Prices Stay Below US$60

A combination of geopolitics, weaker economic growth, increased production (both OPEC and non-OPEC) and negative market sentiment, will keep oil prices at or below the US$60 per barrel mark in 2015, a marked change to expectations toward the end of 2014. The result will be lower investment in new unconventional/offshore oil production and lower revenues for oil services companies, as oil companies cut expenditure.

Resilience of Renewable Energy

Despite the fall in the oil price, renewable energy investment will remain strong. Oil now accounts for just 5% of global electricity generated, and in many countries it is 1% or below. Therefore, it is no longer considered a viable option for electricity generation. Renewable investment costs are also projected to continue falling, particularly for solar PV. Finally government mandated targets and preferential grid access mean that renewables remain an attractive investment option in a large number of countries.

LED Lighting Goes Mainstream

By late 2014, LED lighting had passed 40% penetration of the global lighting market. Driven by enhanced controllability and energy efficiency, the revolution will continue and momentum will build throughout 2015. This transformational change brings massive opportunities across value chains, but also presents huge strategic challenges to incumbent players in terms of pace of technology change and business model.

X-as-a-Service Business Models

Following 5 years of enormous technology innovation, we are entering the era of business model innovation. Customer-centric service based business models enhanced and enabled by technology, such as cloud solutions, will proliferate in the energy management markets. Energy performance contracting, demand response and virtual power plants are transformational changes requiring new business models. Energy savings, lighting and heat are all seeing rapid growth in XaaS delivery as competitive landscapes are transformed.

Growth of Gas

With low oil prices come low gas prices. This will be par-

IoT Enables Smart Buildings

Ongoing convergence of operating technology (OT) with information technology (IT) is bringing the internet of things (IoT) to reality. We’re already seeing many IoT solutions for the smart home and smart building and 2015 will be the year of acceleration. Under the umbrella of Big Data analytics, companies of all shapes and sizes are fighting to lead the way as next generation solutions like the internet of buildings (IoB) and smart cities are already on the horizon.

Re-Shoring

Reshoring of industry from emerging markets to North America (and Europe) is expected to pick up speed as gas prices will remain low for the foreseeable future. As massive new LNG supply emerges globally from Australasia and Africa and pipeline gas is plentiful, future US LNG exports will be lower than previously anticipated, keeping North American gas prices low and thus a boon to energy intensive industries relying on the fuel.

Nuclear Rises in the East

Nuclear power will continue to be a key energy source but with important regional variations. Nuclear will suffer in North America, where plant closures are ongoing due to shale gas competition, as well as Europe. The year will see the start of Germany’s scheduled nuclear phase-out as the first of the remaining plants is taken off the grid.

Asia, on the other hand, will see strong growth, led by China and Japan, where nuclear capacity will be restarted.

Cities Get Smart by Plugging Leaks

Non-revenue water (NRW) losses in cities can be as high as 50% to 60% of total water abstracted and treated, which reflects a highly inefficient water supply delivery mechanism. With water utilities around the world grappling with a multitude of priorities, NRW will become a top priority as cities become smart. Frost & Sullivan estimates the global smart water grid market to be around $9 billion in 2015 with double digit growth forecast to 2020.

Market penetration will double from current levels of 15% to 30% by 2020.

Innovating for Society

The United Nations estimates close to 2.7 billion people are not connected to centralised sewer systems and therefore need decentralised solutions. This bottom of the pyramid segment is being addressed with innovative

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Revival of Desalination

The global desalination market peaked in 2007-08.

However, some of the large desalination projects were stalled due to the financial crisis. The economic recovery over the last couple of years and a steady flow of projects albeit smaller in size compared to 2007-08 levels, means growth has returned to the global desalination plant market in 2015.

Exciting technology trends, such as forward osmosis and solar power desalination will provide a further boost to market growth.

Battery Innovation

The past year has seen a boom in wearables and battery manufacturers are investing heavily in producing batteries that are flexible, thin and stretchy. In 2014, the consumer Li-ion battery market was worth $11.4 billion, accounting for over half of the total Li-ion battery market.

Samsung introduced curved batteries in 2014, while Panasonic showcased its pin-sized batteries for wearables.

The world is getting smarter and more connected every day. Wireless sensor devices are the key enablers of the IoT and batteries will play a crucial role in providing reliable, long lasting power.

Module Level Power Electronics

2015 will bring new opportunities for micro inverters and DC optimizers in terms of expansion into new applications and geographies. Currently, micro inverters hold 40% of the North American residential solar PV market, while its share in Europe is only between 3%-5%. Given that the European renewable inverter market was worth €4.2 billion in 2014, and expected to grow at a CAGR of 5-7% until 2020, micro inverters as a segment is highly attractive.

Established US players are expanding their business into the European and Asian markets, while also targeting commercial and industrial applications.

Distributed is the new Centralised

The distributed energy sector is booming and this will continue in 2015. Solar PV is reaching grid parity, with module costs continuing to decline. R&D into energy storage technologies particularly Li-ion is driving the cost down, with many demonstration projects ongoing globally. Electric vehicles enabling Vehicle-to-Grid are viewed as an important component of smart grid. Tesla Motors’ announcement last year to build a Li-ion gigafactory was a game changer and spurred the EV market into action. Rise of the prosumer, advanced microgrids and technologies that ensure flexibility in the grids will keep the momentum going for distributed generation.

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Made in Italy oriented plan With the so-called ‘Sblocca Italia’ decree, 270 million Euros allocated to encourage Export activities and Made-in-Italy by attracting foreign investments Laura Veneri

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nhancing the image of Made in Italy in the world, increasing the number of enterprises, in particular SMEs, which operate on the global market, expanding the Italian shares of the international trade that saw the marketing balance close last year with a record surplus of 42.9 billion Euros (the best European result after Germany), supporting initiatives to attract foreign investments in Italy.

These are the main goals of the Plan

f o r exceptionally promoting the Made in Italy and attracting investments in our country, with the allocation of a total budget of 260 million Euros through an implementing decree that was signed on February, 26 by the Minister of Eco-

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nomic Development Federica Guidi.

The plan was presented during the meeting of the Steering Committee on the Internationalization held at MISE (Ministry of Economic Development) and co-chaired by Ms. Guidi and by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Paolo Gentiloni.

It is a plan for the period 2015-2017, inserted into the ‘Sblocca Italia’ (literally: Unlock Italy) decree (Italian Legislative Decree 133/2014) and financed by the Law of Stability 2015, for which the implementing decree is now available. The Plan provides to enhance and promote the Made in Italy worldwide, taking also advantage of an event as important as EXPO 2015, which will start on May 1, 2015.

The first objective is to increase exports by 50 billion every year for the above three-years period, aiming to convert potential exporting companies into usual exporters.

The latter are currently 200 thousand but a further potential group of 70 thousand companies has been identified, so the plan for the Made in Italy is intended to expand the number of regular exporters by at least 20 thousand units.

The second purpose is to attract foreign investments in Italy, thus generating at least 20 billion dollars of additional flows. This financial measure will allow to seize

the opportunities offered by the increase of middle class members in the emerging countries (estimated to be about 800 million people over the next 15 years, all being potential consumers of Made in Italy).

Made in Italy plan measures for SMEs

In order to achieve these goals, special incentive measures for SMEs, which are the backbone of Made in Italy and its centers of excellence, were provided. The appropriate policies to assist SMEs and included in the Plan are as follows: • enhancement of main national exhibitions; • promotion to support the entry of Italian products without international brands into foreign markets, in collaboration with the major retail chains worldwide; • communication: offensive strategy for priority markets with an intensive advertising campaign to raise awareness through traditional and more innovative media (social networks and blogs); • unparalleled hallmark of Italian agri-food sector and other interventions at Expo 2015; • enhancement of top-level products; • wide-ranging promotional activities, especially in favor of agricultural and food farming products, even for the protection of trademarks and quality and origin certifications;

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communication against Italian Sounding in synergy with consortiums and associations of agri-food and wine producers of PDO and PGI type, in order to fight all fake Made in Italy phenomena; roadshows in cooperation with business associations and chambers of commerce for disseminating the knowledge of the internationalization supporting tools among SMEs, even arranging specific educational paths, with a special focus on potentially suitable companies that have not yet addressed the international competition; training and use of Temporary Export Manager to foster the acquisition of international managerial skills by SMEs; e-commerce support to facilitate digital platform access.

Foreign markets IN THE Plan

The various international missions and incentivization activities will mainly address the following markets: • US and Canada: intervention measures designed for more dynamic county areas, where the promotional measures have been less extensive and less incisive so far, in view of the potential for expanding our market shares; • China: actions to take advantage of the dynamic growth of this market; • Japan: consolidation of the strong economic relations that Italy has been having there for many years; • Gulf countries: economies that have suffered minor repercussions of the world economic crisis; • Sub-Saharan Africa: Congo, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Angola; • Central Asia: Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, for the strategic value and infrastructure projects launched by their respective Governments;

• • •

Pacific Alliance countries: Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile, where the next institutional missions will take place; Cuba, for the recent opening to international trade; Southeast Asia: Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia, in view of the constant expansion of their markets.

Investment attraction

The plan also responds to the need to make Italy (and its industries) increasingly attractive for foreign investments. In order to achieve this objective, the plan for the Made in Italy also arranges specific roadshows (presentation of the count-

ry opportunities, technical assistance to foreign operators and local rooting), provides for the strengthening of a dedicated structure within the ICE (Istituto per il commercio estero - Institute for foreign Trade, in particular through the Customer Relationship Management for foreign investors, a platform sharing the information on investment opportunities in Italy, a database of international investors, staff training activities), and for the creation of an ‘investment desk’, which will arrange the first global roadshow ‘Invest in Italy’ in agreement with MAECI (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), touching the most important financial centers of the world.

PLAN GOALS •

Increasing the volume of export activities by expanding the presence at international level, particularly in countries where the potential is greater. The main purpose is to increase the export flow of goods and services by about 50 billion Euros within three years.

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Increasing the total number of exporting firms, thus converting the potential exporting companies into usual exporters. In recent years, the average number of companies operating with foreign countries was around 200,000. Within this number, it is believed that the number of regular exporting firms (considering a total of 70,000 having the potentials) could grow by about 20,000 units.

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Seizing the opportunities related to the growth in global demand and to the increase of the middle class in emerging markets. This class of people is more and more oriented towards consumption patterns that are closer to the productive specialization model of the Italian export sector. A global middle class growth is estimated to be of about 800 million people over the next 15 years.

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Enhancing the capability to intercept foreign investments. The aim is to get 20 billion dollars of additional flows.

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inte r nat i o n al

The event of the year dedicated to heavy equipment is approaching INTERMAT will be back in Paris from 20th to 25th April Maria Beatrice Celino

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isiting an exhibition is always a great experience. People are kids again and while walking around the various halls they look for the spell of novelty. This is especially true for those trade shows hosting the construction equipment sector, where visitors can have a detailed overview of those machines that in daily life cannot be appreciated otherwise and just in a few square meters!

This year the best show where everyone will have the opportunity to see the most powerful excavator, the largest bucket, the most innovative technology and the highest performance machines is Intermat - Paris. Intermat will also be a chance to see the construction industry first hand, but above all to start hoping to perceive the end of the crisis that in recent years invested our lives in order to begin to breathe new air, the air of economic recovery.

Trevi Benne: all-field equipment For the fifth consecutive year, Trevi Benne S.p.A. will attend INTERMAT - International Exhibition for Equipment and Techniques for Construction and Materials Industries (Paris, April 20-25, 2015).

Innovation, design and quality will be immediately recognized in all the demolition, recycling, mining and forestry equipment shown at Hall 6/Stand L 100 by the company from Vicenza. Two attachments will particularly stand out: the Multi Kit MK 28P equipped with the Impact Booster valve, and the new, universal, hydraulic quick coupler B-LOCK designed and developed in order to fully comply with the European Standard EN474. A broad living space will be dedicated to hospitality, thus confirming the spirit that has been characterizing Trevi Benne for over twenty years. The company is TĂœV certified for the quality level of their products and actively sponsors the major Italian and European Demolition Associations.

Novelties at the show

Intermat 2015 aims to gather all the world players of the sector. Due to the presence of about 1,500 exhibitors, with 70% from foreign countries, Intermat will present a global offer, proposing a new exhibition layout and a new sector segmentation, for encouraging even more effective business events to corner new markets involved in export activities. The 200,000 visitors expected, including 30% from abroad, will discover all the innovations and news from all construction industries.

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New Volvo EC220E offers best-in-class efficiency Volvo Construction Equipment’s (Volvo CE) latest 22-ton crawler excavator, the EC220E, is fitted with a top-range Tier 4 Final/Stage IV Volvo D6 engine that meets strict emissions legislation across North America and regulated European markets - without compromising on power. The fully optimized hydraulics system and ECO mode deliver the precise amount of power required to complete the task in hand, while the auto engine shutdown feature helps further reduce fuel consumption and emissions, by automatically switching off after the excavator has been inactive for a pre-set amount of time. The increased pump input power on the EC220E enables highly responsive operation for greater productivity and cycle times - and with the boom float function, the pump power normally used for boom lowering can be saved or used for other functions, also reducing cycle times.

At Volvo CE stand, visitors will also have the chance to appreciate the new loading shovels L60H, L70H and L90H, that have been optimized to provide an outstanding fuel efficiency without compromising on performance, and the latest wheeled excavators, EW160E and EW180E, which are multi-tasking machines created to meet all needs of the operators on the construction site.

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Kleemann showcases its new mobile cone crusher MCO 9 EVO Similar to other Kleemann crushers of the EVO line, the MCO 9 has been developed especially for the needs of customers in the contractor market. The drive concept with a crusher direct drive, as well as electric drives for the conveyor belts, promises very efficient operation like the other Kleemann EVO models. Moreover, the new plant does not lack in power, quite the contrary: the 248 kW drive unit is optimally used thanks to a performanceenhanced crusher housing design. A continuous drive power of 160 kW for the crusher is available. Together with its large stroke, the cone crusher enables not only crushing capacities of up to 260 t/h, but also achieves a higher crushing ratio and produces a final product with a higher amount of fine particles in comparison to other cone crushers in this class. In addition, the crusher is optionally equipped with an anti-spin system, which prevents the crusher cone from rotating, thus significantly reducing the wear in this area. A magnet and a metal detector are also available as options, which further increase the operational safety.

Case Launches New Generation D Series Crawler Excavators at Intermat 2015 Case Construction Equipment is launching its new generation D Series crawler excavators at the Intermat 2015 exhibition. The four new models, ranging from 25 to 40 tons operating weight, run a Tier 4 Final (Stage IV) engine and introduce new features and upgrades that raise the bar on the performance of CX excavators while strengthening the outstanding controllability, low fuel consumption, high comfort and reliability these machines are known for. The new generation D Series offers the high productivity, comfort and safety combined with low running costs that construction businesses look for.

The new D Series crawler excavators feature the proven Case Intelligent Hydraulic System that places Case CX excavators among the very best in the market for their impressive controllability and performance. The new electronically controlled hydraulic pumps and larger main valve further boost the new generation’s productivity: they improve the machine’s responsiveness, resulting in cycle times up to 12% faster than the previous generation’s; they result in a breakout force up to 6% higher than the C Series; and they increase the models’ lifting power.

In addition, the CX370D features 2 bigger pumps compared to the model it replaces, with a maximum flow of 2x300 liters/minute.

Mantovanibenne’s eagle glides down on Paris Mantovanibenne’s eagle will appear on the French ground this year again: the scrap shear SH Eagle II is only one of the several machines that will represent the Italian company at Intermat 2015, from 20th to 25th April.

For the six-day exhibition, MBI France (the French branch of the Group) will show a wide variety of demolition and recycling equipment to demonstrate the high quality that only Mantovanibenne can provide to customers: besides the 4700 kg shear (SH410R), visitors will have the opportunity to see a crusher and a mini-crusher, two grapples, a rotating pulverizer RP and a fixed pulverizer MCP, and finally a pile-breaker PB. All demolition and recycling professionals looking for the best solution and the highest quality brand will be certainly satisfied with our products. Mantovanibenne never missed to attend the exhibition over the last years, and thanks to our branch MBI France, the brand is widely known and valued in the whole French market. Our staff will be glad to welcome all visitors at Hall 6/Stand J133.

MB family expands in 2015 with the addition of two new bucket crushers This undisputed global leader in the production and sale of earth moving and demolition equipment is introducing two brand new models of bucket crushers, two gems that complete the range of MB products which is the largest worldwide. Being suitable for excavators exceeding 18.5 tons of weight, the bucket crusher BF 80.3 is compact, versatile and suitable for the operations of crushing and recycling both inert material and material resulting from demolition (road works, excavations, pipes, pipelines). In spite of its size and lower weight compared to larger models, it achieves a throughput of 34 m3 per hour. As the bucket crusher BF 135.8 is suitable for excavators weighing over 43 tons, it was specifically created to meet the needs of crushing in quarries, for aggregates recycling operations in landfills, volume reduction of materials resulting from demolition in large yards, or excavation, sewage systems and preparation of aggregates. With a productivity of 75 m3/h, a capacity of about 1.60 m3 and a total weight of 7.50 tons, the crusher bucket BF 135.8 is versatile and handy. These two new products are another example of MB’s ongoing commitment to renewing its products and its brand, creating work tools that are increasingly more advanced, flexible and simple to use, applicable to any machine, for crushing and screening materials that can be reused directly on site or for other purposes. Like the brand’s other bucket crushers, these latest additions also hold the exclusive bucket crusher patent for multiple jaw movements. Furthermore, each individual part of the bucket is designed to facilitate any intervention performed directly at the work site to minimize operations as much as possible.

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Tower Light’s lighting and dust suppression sets are ready for Intermat Tower Light Srl, the market leading manufacturer of commercial lighting systems, alongside their sister division DF Ecology, will show examples from their lighting and dust fighter range in the next Intermat exhibition which will take place in Paris. DF Ecology now produces the largest range of dust suppression units available from one single source. The company currently boasts a line of sets which will cover from 5 to 120 meters, available as standalone units or with an integral power generating set. DF Ecology dust fighters are also available with or without water tanks ranging from 2000 to 16000 liters. This company has a high profile throughout the world with their products used in many different market sectors. During the past year, DF Ecology’s research and development team produced new machines that can control dust both indoor and outdoor. This means that the company can expand its operation area to include new sectors, such as landfill sites, refuse dumps, quarries, mining, along with aggregate and metal recycling plants, both indoor and outdoor. The company is absolutely adept at providing bespoke products that will enhance the health of workers in all of these sectors.

Under the spotlight at Stand 5A E165 there will be the DF Ecology’s DF7500 model and three Tower Light’s lighting towers, the 4x300W LED VT1-L, the hybrid solution Hydro Power Cube Hybrid, and the compact, easilyhandled MT1. Tower Light Srl and DF Ecology form part of the US based Generac Power Systems Group and are going to turn their legal name into Generac Mobile Products Srl starting from March 2015.

A new generation in timber handling: SENNEBOGEN 735 E-Series With the new 735 of the current E-Series, SENNEBOGEN presents the next generation of mobile timber handling machines. The pick & carry machine boasts compact dimensions, a robust design, and optimal consumption values. As pick & carry machines, the SENNEBOGEN timber handling machines have long impressed several customers around the world. In this regard, the SENNEBOGEN 735, which first came onto the market in 2005, has been an evidenced and trusted success story for many years. The current E-Series seamlessly extends this success with the new generation. Equipped with a diesel engine complying with the Tier 4f emissions standard, a newly designed robust mobile undercarriage, and particularly low consumption values, the 735 uniformly impresses operators and the persons responsible for machinery. As a genuine timber handling machine, the SENNEBOGEN 735 plays a well-established role in sawmills and log sorting yards. This is where above all the pick & carry concept reveals its strengths. Whether the task at hand is removing logs along the sorting line or sorting and manipulating the selection for further processing, the machine is ideally equipped for a variety of tasks. Being provided with a powerful 224 kW diesel engine, two-stage all-wheel travel drive, and an 11.3 m equipment length, the 735 is available to end users through the immediately effective sales partner network.

Hitachi presents the new ZX350LC-5 super long front excavator Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) NV (HCME) will introduce its largest super long front medium excavator at Intermat 2015. With an extended operating range, the ZX350LC-5 model has been specially designed for earthmoving on dredging, bank maintenance and slope finishing projects. It has been developed with a variety of features to meet the demands of European owners and operators, with a special focus on productivity, durability, comfort and safety, and easy maintenance. Being manufactured to comply with the latest EU regulations on emission standards, the ZX350LC-5 super long front machine has a powerful Isuzu engine, which delivers higher throughput with greater fuel efficiency. The auto shutdown and auto idle features prevent fuel wastage, and reduce noise levels, exhaust emissions and CO2. The new TRIAS hydraulic system has helped to boost the productivity of the ZX350LC-5 super long front machine, because it enables faster operation with less fuel than the previous Zaxis-3 model. The auto power boost function has been increased by ten per cent to provide an enhanced excavating and earthmoving performance. With its strengthened boom and arm, the ZX350LC-5 super long front machine offers greater durability than the previous Zaxis-3 model, which makes it ideal for working many hours in rugged and remote environments.

Hyundai will launch new excavator range at Intermat 2015 Hyundai Heavy Industries Europe (HHIE) will present the first six models of the new excavator range at Intermat 2015. The engineers at Hyundai have utilized the Tier4/ Stage IV momentum to re-develop the machines from scratch. Hyundai says that many improvements from operator feedback have been implemented to create ultimately better, stronger and more robust machines for customers worldwide. At Intermat 2015, the following machines will see their world premiere in hall 5B: HX220 L, HX260 L, HX300 L, HX330 L, HX380 L e HX520 L. With the new engines, the machines are compliant with the latest regulations (Tier4 final and EU Stage IV final) for Nox and particulate matter reduction. Hyundai has opted for a combined solution of EGR and SCR technologies.

At the same time, a reduction in fuel consumption of 3 to 6 percent has been achieved - in line with the nature of the machine activity. Hyundai has selected several engine suppliers for the new machines. The HX220 ~ HX380 are equipped with new Cummins engines and the HX520 with a new Scania engine.

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Intermat Innovation Awards

The enhancement of innovations is one of the strengths of the event. A panel of European experts has selected the best novelties of the industry and divided them into five categories which reflect

the life cycle of a construction site: Raw material extraction Construction Equipment Equipment & Components Digital applications for the various construction phases.

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Engineering & Systems At Pre-INTERMAT gala, the results were officially announced and the awards assigned for all the categories. Among those of greatest interest there are Merlo and Liebherr.

Liebherr Demolition Control System

Merlo Transversal Stability System

The LDC system developed by Liebherr for demolition excavators was awarded the silver medal.

Liebherr has developed a new unique system called LDC, for Liebherr Demolition Control. This system allows at any time to give the operator the position of the demolition attachment and to guarantee the stability of the demolition excavator. The challenge was to find a solution to integrate this LDC system into the electronics of the excavator and to simplify the manipulations by the operator. This led us to propose an automatic recognition of the attachment lengths, to install angle sensors in order to know the position of the equipment, and to integrate the tools types with their weight in the excavator display.

In order to optimize the performances of the excavator, an extended reach with rotation limitation has been developed. This new LDC eliminates a possible human error which could affect the stability of the machine. A tactile color display allows the animation of the attachment position to be viewed in real time and the driver to be informed on the authorized movements.

The driver is also given a display of the position (flatness) of the machine.

Merlo Transversal Stability System was awarded the gold medal at Intermat Innovation Awards 2015 for the category ‘Engineering & Systems’. After introducing the most comprehensive and advanced longitudinal stability management system (MCDC), the company now launches a new, ground-breaking safety feature for the agricultural sector: lateral overturn protection. It prevents lateral overturning by providing the operator a real-time feedback on the lateral stability index through a cab-mounted LDC display, a light indicator and a buzzer. The system is completely automatic. It recognizes the attached implements, the load weight, the boom geometry and the total balance of the telehandler.

The operator works under maximum safety conditions and the machine can perform at its best (Max productivity). The system proposed by Merlo aims to increase safety standards. Merlo believes that safety represents an essential and fundamental value, therefore the M TSS system will be fitted on base machine and without any price increase for the final customer. Merlo has always given the highest priority to safety and accident prevention.

EXPO 2015: PROPAGATING RECYCLING CULTURE AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY At the exhibition site, an environmental meter will measure environmental, economic and social benefits of the waste recycling process Bruno Vanzi

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n March 24, Expo 2015 S.p.A. and CONAI (Italy’s National Packaging Consortium, Official Supporter of Expo Milano 2015) presented their memorandum of understanding for promoting a circular economy program for the universal exhibition.

Piero Galli (Director General of Sales & Entertainment Expo 2015 S.p.A.) and Walter Facciotto (Director General of CONAI) showed the importance of the ‘Circular Economy Programme of Expo Milano 2015’.

The production of municipal and similar waste in the spaces of the Universal Exhibition is estimated to be of the order of 17,000 tons, an average of 70-80 tons per day, with peak production of 130 tons on the weekends.

For this reason, at the exhibition site, CONAI and Expo Milano 2015 will support the importance of waste recycling through separated collection, mobilizing visitors and operators.

At least 40% of waste will be produced by visitors, while 60% will be generated inside the exhibition and catering areas. In order to inform the operators, also giving them some general guidelines, and encourage tourists to behave in a virtuous way, CONAI will provide information panels and materials so that all waste, of packaging origin or not, will be properly diffe-

rentiated to allow their exploitation through recycling.

The waste sorting activities aim to achieve the threshold of 70% of total waste to be recycled through the Supply Chain Consortiums and to be sent to composting plants, while the separate collection system at Expo Milano 2015 will be the same as that currently used in the city. Paper and cardboard, glass, metal and plastic packaging, organic fraction (with food scraps and disposable products, such as cups, plates and cutlery

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made of compostable material) are the five fractions to be collected separately and re-enter into the production circuit, thus reducing the use of new resources.

The agreement between CONAI and Expo 2015 S.p.A. includes the implementation of an environmental meter that will measure the environmental, economic and social benefits of the correct management of waste products – waste sorting at the exhibition site and recycling - through a set of appropriate indicators including

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Children Park area. Within the spaces of the Universal Exhibition, thirty benches made of recycled packaging materials will also be set up for representing a true example of a circular economy model that works and is sustainable from both the environmental and economic point of view.

Piero Galli, Director General of Sales & Entertainment Expo 2015 S.p.A says: “Expo 2015 wants to leave a positive mark, not only in terms of awareness of the sustainability principles inside the event organization system itself, in line with the topic ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life’, but also by promoting and sharing the best practices among all visitors and participants. In actual terms, this means achieving high performance levels, for example in waste sorting and enhancement through recycling and composting processes. In the field of waste management, we want to provide a good example and a true benchmark for future exhibitions and big events. So, to this end, we ask for the contribution and collaboration of everyone, from service operators to participants and their staff, from our partners to visitors.”

Walter Facciotto, Director General of CONAI, adds: “Sustainability is the amount of CO 2 emissions avoided, the quantity of waste detracted from the landfill and recycled according to their product category, raw materials, and water and energy savings.

The environmental meter created in collaboration with AMSA-A2A Group will be periodically updated in order to monitor the trend of the separate waste collection and recycling activities.

CONAI will also make a series of videos, in Italian and English, with information on how to behave when sorting waste in the World Expo, in order to ensure a quality waste collection and the minimization of foreign elements along with the recovery of a larger amount of waste.

For educating and informing children, CONAI will also create an interactive game to be played through eighteen e-walls and educational materials for

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the true focus of Expo 2015, and to this end CONAI has made available its skills and expertise in the areas of packaging waste recycling and recovery. In fact, sustainability does not mean only environment protection and prevention, but also economic development prospects and new business opportunities. Over 15 years, the Consortium System has generated 15.2 billion Euros of overall benefits for the national economy, and today 37,000 people work in the chain of processing packaging waste and in the recycling industry.”

Through the work of CONAI and other chain consortiums, who have supported and boosted the exploitation of packaging materials from municipal waste collection, in the last 15 years the recovery scenario has completely changed. In 1998, 33.2% of the packaging material placed for consumption was exploited, today 77.5% is recovered, representing more than three packages out of four.

The achievement of these results has allowed not to build at least 100 landfills, has avoided the emission of 125 million tons of CO 2 , and saved 350 billion kwH of energy, a value above the overall Italian demand per year.

800 business ideas in the Expo’s White Paper The White Paper drawn up by the Expo’s organization is now available, summarizing the 800 plans of the companies which sat at the Expo’s decision-making table over the last five years A true booming optimism has characterized the first months of 2015. Among the reasons behind this positive sentiment towards Expo 2015, there is in first place the appreciation for the events related to the fair to be held in Milan from May 1 to October 31, 2015. A special increasing interest is observed in both the subject of eco-sustainability and nutrition education - the two basic topics of the exhibition - as well as interestingly in the ‘Italian spirit’ and ‘national pride’.

As shown by the analysis of the Chamber of Commerce of Milan through ‘Voices from the Blogs’ - a spin-off of the public University of Milan - in the first two months of 2015 the sentiment towards Expo 2015 reached its highest, with almost 80% of the Italian outcome, and the debate on Expo intensified as well: the 132,000 comments left in January rose to 192,000 in February, considering only those written in Italian. Directly from the new businesses generated by Expo, there comes an impact of 1.7 billion Euros and 12,400 jobs out of a total of 23.6 billion of added value and 191,000 job roles, according to the research on the direct economic effect and event legacy for the period 2012-2020.

At the end of the Expo’s decision-making tables, Giuseppe Sala - sole commissioner and CEO of Expo 2015 S.p.A., comments: “We are really satisfied with the appreciations that we are seeing on the Internet. After the great interest in the subject ‘Feeding the Planet. Energy for Life’, which has prompted more than 140 countries to participate in the Universal Exhibition, today we get a very important confirmation from the web. The information taken by Voices from the Blogs tells us that Expo Milano 2015 has become an online platform for discussion and exchange of ideas, opinions and knowledge.

This attitude, which will find its ultimate expression during the six months of the event, has always been the focus of the thematic discussions. This experience was useful and strategic, giving rise to several scenarios and providing for incentives and reflections thanks to the liveliness of the protagonists and their know-how: I mean all businesses, research centers, academics and experts in art, tourism, environment and health, who took part in this plan and that I thank for their contribution.”

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CONCORDIA WRECK DECOMMISSIONING PROJECT Overview of the well-structured, complex Italian project that will lead to the complete demolition of the ship sank in front of the Giglio Island Massimo Viarenghi

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oncordia certainly needs no introduction, and since January 2012 its story has filled many newspaper pages. Since last July, the world renowned wreck has been at the port of Genoa, where the delicate stripping and decommissioning operations that will put an end to a sad chapter in the history of Italy are still ongoing.

Ship Recycling, the Italian consortium consisting of two important companies - Saipem and San Giorgio del Por-

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to (SGDP) - has the task of completing the decommissioning of the wreckage arrived from the Giglio Island. This demolition will be a milestone in the field of ship decommissioning, thus opening the way to development prospects in this area.

Saipem and SGDP started their cooperation many years before the Concordia, when San Giorgio’s shipyards were awarded the work of revamping some vessels owned by Saipem. In September 2012, the two companies signed

an agreement with the aim to work actively in the highly strategic field of green ship dismantling.

They gave rise to a completely Italian team and submitted a technical and economic proposal that turned out to be particularly successful.

The final act, in which the Ship Recycling Consortium is playing the main role, will continue for about 22 months, and depending on the various work stages, will involve from 50 to 280 people.

The Consortium team consists of several technical, managerial, operational and control figures, divided into two major areas: the management and engineering unit, which deals with the organization of works and the engineering of the different stages, and the dismantling unit.

All teams have different skills: in addition to the squad in charge of demolitions, there are teams involved in waste management, environmental monitoring, security, along with technicians who deal with the ship floating system, and environmental emergency teams. Concordia’s demolition project has been divided into four distinct stages, three being performed with the ship still floating. All activities have been preceded by a preparation step to make the workspaces and evacuation routes safe.

The activities of the first stage, which are currently nearing completion, essentially consist in ship stripping operations through the implementation of safety measures and the removal of all materials and waste present on the decks emerged. This step will be conducted at the breakwater (‘Diga Foranea’) at the Prà Voltri terminal of the port of Genoa, where the wreck is currently anchored. In the first stage, all the activities have been organized so as to minimize the material and waste handling, using as much as possible the wreckage as a work area. All materials removed are transferred by means of pontoons from the breakwater to the quay ‘Voltri’ (‘Banchina di Voltri’), where they will be properly managed in accordance with the Integrated Environmental Authorization.

At the end of stage 1, the wreck, whose draft is expected to pass from 18 to about 15 meters, will be transferred to the ‘Molo Ex Superbacino’ dock, located inside the port of Genoa, where the works of decommissioning of bridges 14-2 will occur.

At stage 3, all preliminary activities for transferring the wreck to dry dock n. 4 for the final demolition and recycling operations are carried out. In practice, the 30 sponsons which now allow Concordia to remain floating should be completely removed. In fact, the

original width of the ship is 35.5 meters, and with the sponsons it reaches about 60 meters, but the dry dock is about 40 meters wide.

The refloating of the hull will be ensured by additional thrust volumes. The sponsons can be removed only later.

During this stage, some magnetic sheeting will also be applied for plugging leaks in the keel as a supplementary preventive measure. The wreckage will be finally towed to dry dock n.4 (about

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half a mile from the ‘Molo Ex Superbacino’ dock, always in port waters) in order to complete the dry dismantling operations in a segregated area.

All the cutting sequences on structural parts in the various stages of the project will be planned with the aid of calculations and simulated with the application of numerical models in order to ensure the wreck stability.

The disassembly activities are arranged in order to maximize the separation

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THE FOUR-STAGE PROJECT The SGDP/SAIPEM Concordia New Recycling Project includes four distinct stages.

STAGE 1

It consists in the operations required to receive the wreck at the port of Genoa Pra-Voltri and in the process of stripping it, which will take place after the technical handover between Titan Micoperi - the consortium of companies that worked on the removal of Concordia from the Giglio Island - and the technicians of Saipem/ SGDP. The planned activities include the removal of interior furnishings and fittings of the decks emerged, in order to get a draft such as to reach the ship repairing area at the ‘Molo Ex Superbacino’ dock without performing dredging operations. The site at the Prà-Voltri terminal of the port of Genoa consists of two working areas: the dock of the breakwater (‘Diga Foranea’), used for mooring the wreckage and carrying out the stripping operations, and the dock at the quay ‘Voltri’ (‘Banchina di Voltri’), where there will be a specific workspace for logistic activities and management of waste removed from the ship. The stripping process will start from the upper deck (14), gradually proceeding with a deck at a time. It will end when the wreckage will have a draft of about 15 meters, needed to enter the ‘Molo Ex Superbacino’ dock (current draft of about 17.5 meters, 18.5 when considering the thickness of the chains passing through the hull for connecting the sponsons).

This stage should be completed in April.

STAGE 2

The wreck will be transferred from the breakwater (‘Diga Foranea’) of Prà-Voltri to the ‘Molo Ex Superbacino’ dock, where the decommissioning of the structures forming decks from 14 to 2 will be carried out, including the removal of interior furnishings and fittings of the decks that will surface as works go on. The operations of transferring and docking the wreck will be conducted according to a plan specifically agreed with the relevant authorities, taking into account the experience arising from the activities of towing Concordia between the Giglio Island and Genoa and mooring it at the dock/breakwater in Voltri. The disassembly of the deck structures will be done in order not to affect the stability and longitudinal strength of the wreckage. In this regard, the wreck will be divided into three sub-areas of operation (bow, stern and amidships). During the whole Stage 1 and the subsequent towing operations from Voltri to ‘Molo ex Superbacino’ dock, the ballast system, the stress monitoring system, and the control system of the strand jacks used for towing Concordia from the Giglio Island to Voltri will be kept in operation.

STAGE 3

It will include the implementation of preliminary activities for transferring the wreckage to dry dock n. 4.

The main tasks that will be performed at this stage will include crating thrust volumes in the wreck and sealing some compartments, so as to allow the subsequent removal of the 30 sponsons. This operation will take place following appropriate disconnection procedures. In addition, the cleaning of galleys and cold rooms present at deck 0 will be also included. Once the above-listed steps will be completed, the wreckage will be towed to dry dock n. 4.

STAGE 4

All the operations to be performed in a segregated and dry place will be performed within dry dock n. 4, until the wreckage will be completely decommissioned. In order to ensure a proper water management, dry dock n. 5 will be used for the characterization and possible treatment of wastewaters. The steps of removing the interior furnishings, cleaning the areas, and finally demolishing all structures will be carried out at dry dock n. 4.

Stage 4 will finish with the activities of material management and waste transport and disposal/recovery.

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of the different waste materials, thus minimizing their handling operations, thanks to the involvement of a technical staff with extensive experience in both waste management and marine engineering/demolition projects. In any case, a recovery of more than 80% by weight of the wreck materials is estimated, including metals of course.

The priorities of Saipem-SGDP project are safety and minimization of impacts using advanced environmental protection measures. The actions of control and possible mitigation are ensured by the implementation of the environmental monitoring project that involves the matrices on which these activities impact: air, noise, sea water and sediments.

Before the wreck arrived, all monitoring campaigns aimed at checking the status of sites have been performed and then, up from the mooring of the ship, in-depth analysis of all the environmental matrices have been initiated. The monitoring project has been developed in order to take the utmost care in the field of environmental protection, by agreeing on parameters, frequencies, location of monitoring stations, as well as on sampling and analysis methods, with the relevant authorities. Ship recycling will become a topic of great international interest with the adoption of the Hong Kong International Convention 2009 drawn at IMO (International Maritime Organization), on the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships, and there is a desire in the convention to succeed in stemming the migration of ships at the end of their operational lives to some countries of South-east Asia, in sites lacking of the most basic standards of safety and protection of human health and environment. The Convention will enter into force when at least 15 States, representing 40% of world merchant shipping by gross tonnage, will have signed it without reservation.

For the project of disposal and recycling of Concordia, well ahead of the implementation of the rules, the Ship Recycling Plan has been drawn up right according to the Convention. Italy is among the first five countries to having already signed the Convention, and the Ship Recycling Consortium is ready to face this new challenge.

Supersized smart plant in Granarolo dell’Emilia An innovative and technological platform for waste selection will allow recovery optimization of differentiated paper and plastic Maria Beatrice Celino

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he innovative platform for waste selection of Akron, a subsidiary of Herambiente (Hera Group) created in Granarolo dell’Emilia, close to Bologna, has completed its first year of operation. The plant offers an authorized capacity of 100,000 tons/year and is the solution for the waste sorting treatment in the Bolognese area, that aims at a substantial increase in volumes in the second half of this year through the launch of an ambitious project which will involve the old town center.

The project

The new Akron plant closes down the significant investment plan of Hera Group for the expansion of the industrial chain in support of waste sorting in all areas served by the multi-utility. Between 2011 and 2014, four other recovery platforms similar to that of Granarolo, i.e. in Voltana (RA), Coriano (RN), Modena and Ferrara, have been completely renovated or built from scratch, and two innovative anaerobic biodigesters have been provided, being capable of producing electricity and composts while enhancing the separate wet waste collection (Voltana (RA), Coriano (RN)), which added to that existing since 2009 in San Carlo di Cesena, the first of this type implemented in Italy.

The aim of these measures, also included in the Hera Business Plan for 2017, with a total investment of over 40 million Euros, is double: making the most of citizens’ engagement in waste separation

and confirming Emilia-Romagna among the most virtuous regions in Italy, not only as regards the waste sorting percentages (currently 53.7% on average in the areas managed by Hera), but also as far as the material actually directed to recovery is concerned. This parameter indeed, more than the collection rate, is the reference point towards which European targets are oriented. On this front, the percentage of the separate waste collection directed to effective recovery

by Hera is now exceeding 93%, as shown in the study of waste traceability carried out each year in cooperation with Emilia-Romagna and certified by a qualified external body such as DNV Business Assurance.

The plant

The time needed to actually implement a project from the beginning of the authorization process is two years: one year for the environmental impact assessment and one year for the construction.

The plant, built on an area of 13,000 m2, has been established in an innovative

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way, with two separate lines for plastic processing with a capacity of more than 8 t/h and two volume reduction presses for paper that can process up to 15 t/h.

With respect to the 100,000 t/year approved, the facility is significantly oversized and also adopts sophisticated technolo-

gies that have never been used in Italy.

In designing this platform, all the different experiences made by Akron have been developed to achieve a level of technology that proves to be unique in our country.

The plant includes three French optical readers for the plastic line, two Austrian optical readers for the paper line, German revolving screens and ballistic separators, and a volume reduction and air filtration system fully manufactured in Italy.

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I NTERNAT I ONA L

Plastic line

The processing of plastics is structured with important equipment in the head of the line. Indeed, there are a metering apparatus because there is a need for a constant and homogeneous supply to ensure the excellent operation of the line.

Also important is the sorting room that has been inserted since Akron’s experience highlighted the frequent presence of foreign material in the waste separation process.

These are followed by a 12 m revolving screen which allows the material to be divided according to its size, and then a ballistic separator which carries out instead a segregation according to the two-dimensionality or three-dimensionality of the material.

After this first separation stage, the plastics is fed on three conveyor belts towards the optical readers, which represent the heart of the system, through which color and type of materials can be recognized with very high speed and accuracy.

After the optical readers, in order to optimize the quality of the output material, a quality control room has been included, where the staff performs additional checks for boosting the recovery to the maximum.

Finally, there is the storage area from which, according to the schedule, the material is sent to one of two presses installed.

Paper line

The paper and cardboard line is highly specialized. Leading the line there is a multi-bag loader, required because the waste collection in Bologna implies to collect paper in plastic bags, which must then be separated from the paper flow.

The material is then fed to the paper separator, that automatically separates paper from cardboard. The next station is a screen immediately upstream of the optical readers, an example of cutting-edge technology for the first time applied in Italy. In addition to the material and color, the reader reads out all inks, thus allowing the separa-

tion of flexographic printed materials in order to obtain a select material which is especially required by German paper mills.

As in the case of the plastics line, following the various screening operations, there is the control room, a further step that allows to increase the quality of the output material.

Optical Reading Technology The spectrometer equipped with NIR sensors recognizes the materials according to their apparent, specific spectral features of reflected light, while the sensor based on the spectrometer for visible light recognizes the materials according to their specific color characteristics. Depending on the application, the sensors are combined together.

The material to be sorted is evenly driven to the sensors on a quick conveyor belt. The material on the belt is detected by NIR and/or VIS spectrometer sensors. This information is assessed by the control system included. If the sensors recognize the parts to be selected, the individual valves are opened exactly in the position of interest and the material is separated with the aid of compressed air. The material to be sorted is thus separated into two fractions in an automatic way.

Therefore, the operation of sorting is carried out automatically, at a rate three times higher than the conventional selection lines.

Volume reduction lines

There are also two volume reduction lines (packing presses) serving the two lines for waste treatment, which can also be used for the direct volume reduction of waste requiring only one step of quality control before the final pressing.

A process air treatment system will treat the air used for the aspiration of plastics (especially films) in the waste treatment and selection process.

A system of producing process compressed air, which is installed in a prefabricated box, will power the five optical readers and other service points located close to the main machines.

Ballistic separator

Being present on the ‘plastic and multi-material’ line, this tool has a huge rotating cylinder provided with holes, capable of automatically separating the materials according to their density or weight. In fact, the revolution of the cylinder imposes a strong acceleration to the materials to be selected: the lightest ones travel a shorter distance, while those which are heavier move on longer paths. Through the holes of the cylinder, all types are intercepted by the mouths of various hoppers, all placed at the base of closed chambers where the waste is collected.

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ITALIAN PUBLIC UTILITIES: RESOURCES TO BE DEVELOPED Investments flow for the utilities covering over 50% of the electricity produced in Italy, 66% of supplied drinking water and 36% of waste Maeva Brunero Bronzin

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he third edition of Top Utility, held on February 4 at the Chamber of Commerce of Milan, brought together leaders of major companies and stakeholders on the subject of enhancing utilities as a strategic resource for the country.

The Top Utility IPA (Performance Integrated Assessment) model scanned the 100 largest Italian companies, crowning the winners of this edition.

Acque S.p.A. (in the final along with Aimag, Hera, Marche Multiservizi and Nuove Acque) confirmed to be the first of its kind in Italy. Hera (finalist with Acea, Acque, Iren and Marche Multiservizi) won first place for sustainability, Gruppo CAP from Milan (together with A2A, Acea, Acque and Hera) for communications, A2A (with Acqua Novara Vco, Acque del Chiampo, Aimag and Metropolitana Milanese) for technology and innovation, whereas Contarina from the Treviso area (along with Atena, Etra, Lario Reti and Toscana Energia) got through for operative performance.

The report examines the economic and financial situation of the last three years, the operations management, the communications, the social and environmental sustainability, the relationship with consumers and with the local area, the technological heritage and innovation to assess the performance of the major

utilities operating in Italy from the point of view of economic, financial, social and environmental sustainability, thus highlighting excellences, critical aspects and basic trends.

Alessandro Marangoni, Althesys CEO and coordinator of Top Utility’s research team, explains: “This analysis portrays in details a field that is still very heterogeneous in Italy. Our survey, that considers both financial/economic features and those related to sustainability, communication, technology and relationship with consumers, shows that in addition to large groups, currently over-sized at regional or national level, there is a plurality of small and very small companies, differing in business, strength and results achieved. However, the trend line is clear: as the company size grows, efficiency increases, although there is some way to go for the industry to have a structure similar to that of the other European countries.�

The system of local public services plays a key role. The turnover built by the 100 largest companies represents 7.7% of Italian Gross Domestic Product in 2013.

Their services affect the competitiveness of enterprises and the welfare of citizens. They form part of the utility sector of large businesses alongside small and medium-sized local companies (53% of them bills less than 100 million). In 2013,

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the set of 100 largest Italian utilities covered over 52% of the electricity produced in Italy, 66% of supplied drinking water and 36% of waste. In the same year, the 100 Top Utilities experienced a slight decrease in total revenues (125.1 billion euro, -1.3%) and an increase in investments (5.7 billion, + 6.8%).

From the point of view of economic performance, the companies in the energy sector are above average, while those specialized in waste management are especially burdened by staff costs. Water suppliers have the best EBITDA/revenues ratio (22.4%), followed by multiutilities (17.1%) and energy companies (15.1%). The fall in turnover due to the consumption crisis has primarily involved the leading energy groups and some large multi-utilities in the north of Italy.

Despite the small drop in revenues, in 2013 the technological investments of Top Utilities increased by 6.8% compared to 2012, thus reaching a value of about 5.7 billion Euros. The total investment in the energy sector was 3.3 billion, while multi-utilities provided for a contribution of 27.2%. Water industry and waste globally invest 823 million Euros.

The trend applies not only to the great utilities steadily at the top, but also to a number of medium and small businesses, because of their excellent operating results, with a particular consideration for sustainability, attention to customers and to the local areas. There are noticed stable or rising revenues for small and medium businesses dealing with environmental issues (integrated water service and waste).

The results of refuse collection companies are above average, with a percentage of waste sorting that reaches 49%.

The water sector instead observes average losses of about 35%, especially in the South (50%), while the North is close to the European standards, thus indicating the need to invest more in the mains, although a large part of the losses is of administrative nature. However, data on losses can also be influenced by the greater strictness found in statistical surveys due to the instructions by AEEGSI (the Italian Regulatory Authority for Electricity, Gas and Water). The losses in the UK are of 19%, 10% in Denmark and 7% in Germany.

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FOCUS

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Soilmec’s new hydraulic microdrilling rigs SM-4 and SM-9 The SM-4, exhibited at Geotechnica (U.K) in June 2014 for the first time, has been designed to perform Sectional Flight Auger technology. Sectional Flight Auger (SFA) piles are formed by using sectional lengths of continuous flight auger with hollow stem. The technology is used in low head room or very restricted job sites, where a CFA rig cannot have the right reach. Each section, that starts with a toothed lead auger, is added to the rig as the augers are bored into the ground. When the required depth is reached, grout is mixed and pumped through the rotary and down the hollow stem of the augers as they are extracted and removed. Piles can therefore be made under wet unstable ground conditions. Sectional Flight Augers are also used, in certain soil conditions, for open bore piles. The auger sections are fully extracted before the grout is cast in the open bore.The compact SM-4 rig unit boosts retractable crawlers and stabilizers, allowing the rig to reach a min width of 740mm and a minimum tracking height of 1980mm. The innovative casing clamp system is also 740mm width to allow quick and easy access into the tightest spots, without needing to remove the clamp. Compliant to the new Euro Legislation EN16228 standard, the double hinged safety guard and slow rotation system has a double interlock system.

This enables easy removal of the front panels when working close to a wall, using the already interlocked side panels for accessing the auger string for loading and unloading sections. The new SM-9 is the perfect combination between design and performance, a new multipurpose drilling rig in 8-9 ton class, designed to meet the needs of professionals around the world. Flexibility, low fuel consumption and high efficiency were the designers’ guidelines while creating the SM-9. The rig is fitted with a new powerful Diesel engine Deutz TCD 4.1 L04 4V (Tier IV) coupled to the new hydraulic system by using Rexroth® technology. The rig is fitted with proportional, hydraulic servo-assisted controls that make operations smooth. Featured with Load Sensing System, it has lower running costs and a reduced wear and tear on components. The modern and innovative radio control installed on both the SM-4 and SM-9 allows all machine operations to be controlled safely; it ensures reliability, maneuvering speed and excellent visibility for the operator.

Environmental assessment of closed mine sites: Golder Associates experience Golder Associates experience in the field of environmental site characterization and closed mine site remediation has been developed particularly in the Tuscany area, in the provinces of Grosseto and Siena. For this particular sector, Golder Associates is able to provide turn-key assistance from the initial planning stage to the presentation of characterization studies and remediation work designs, passing through organization, permission and execution of site investigations.

The environmental characterization of the dewatering tunnels of Niccioleta, Fenice Accesa, Ballarino and Gavorrano closed mines was one of the most challenging project undertaken in this particular field: the study focused on the Bruna and Carsia river basins and was aimed to study the mine waters from hydrogeological and geochemical points of view, to evaluate their quality condition and to assess their potential effects on environmental matrixes.

A thorough field data collection was organized to support preparation of the environmental studies. A wide range of measurements, surveys and sampling was carried out, such as: •• stream water flow and quality; •• water quality in the hyporheic flow and quaternary deposits; •• physical and chemical characterization of stream sediments and quaternary deposits; •• water and sediment ecotoxicity; •• biotic indexes and quality of stream environments; •• suspended and bed material loads for sediment transport; •• geochemical and mineralogical characteristics of transported sediments; •• groundwater level surveys and contours.

In 2009, Golder Associates was assigned both on-field and reporting stages, that were completed in 2014. Technical meetings with public authorities and stakeholders are currently ongoing to discuss and share the outcomes of the research done.

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BAIONI COMMISSIONED THE FIRST STABILIZATION/SOLIDIFICATION PLANT FOR SOLID WASTE For more than half a century, Baioni Crushing Plants Company has been involved in designing, manufacturing, installing equipment and solutions for quarrying, recycling and waste management industries. In the last few years, in the light of new operational scenarios for the supply of technologies, services and know-how in the Environment field, as well as for the recovery and redevelopment of brownfield areas and seaports, the Environment Division of the company has offered innovative solutions through the techniques of soil washing, technical desorption and solid waste stabilization/solidification.

Through several on-field experiences, Baioni has been able to confront with the leading companies for projects related to land remediation and soil contaminated with hazardous waste. The new SS plant has been operating in Italy since autumn 2014, successfully achieving a total of 60 t/h of solid waste. SS is a proven, on-field technology used to treat contaminated sediment, sludge and soils, an in-situ remediation technology that involves mixing contaminated solid waste materials with treatment additives to cause physical or chemical changes that will reduce the environmental impact. Baioni provide the new environmental technologies taking care of project engineering, processing of raw materials, construction of steel structures, sandblasting, painting, construction of electrical systems, assembly and final testing with turnkey plants.

THE TURKISH JOINT VENTURE SIGNS CONTRACTS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF PHOTOVOLTAIC PARKS IN TURKEY Innovatec SpA, operating in the field of development and supply of innovative technologies, products and services for the corporate and retail market in the area of distributed generation/smart-grid and smart-cities combination, energy efficiency and energy storage, controlled

by Kinexia S.pA, announces that ESE Erikoglu Sunsystem Enerji, the joint venture between Innovatec (acting through its affiliate company Sun System SpA) and the Turkish partner PV Shop (managed by Erikoglu family), has signed an agreement for the construction of two turnkey photovoltaic systems in Dinar (in the Aegean region, 500 km south of Istanbul). The agreement provides for the transfer of two special purpose vehicles owning two licenses for the construction of 1 MW PV system each, and the allocation of EPC works to Erikoglu Sun System for an amount of 2,450,000 Euros, 600,000 being already received as an advance. Works will start in April this year. This agreement integrates the contracts signed in July 2014 for the construction of photovoltaic parks in Turkey with a capacity of 4 MWp. At the beginning of March, the first two plants with 1 MWp each in Galata and Academy were completed, and their connection to the network is expected by April. In the same month, works will begin on the third 1 MW plant in Ulku, the first facility provided with tracker technology and installed in Turkey. The Turkish photovoltaic market has a great potential for Innovatec and, once again, proves the validity of the integrated approach proposed by the company and its parent Kinexia towards the international development of its business, as well as its ability to develop licenses even on a local basis, serving as EPC contractor.

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I nt e r n a ti o n al

IFAT

EVENTS

CHINA, MAY 6-8

As Asia’s leading environmental show, IE expo offers an effective business and networking platform for Chinese and international professionals in the environmental sector. IE expo 2015 will take place from May 6 to 8, 2015 in Shanghai New International Expo Centre, which will cover all the high potential markets in environmental area: water and sewage treatment, waste management, site remediation, air pollution control and air purification.

SPS

PARMA, MAY 12-14

SPS IPC Drives Italia originates from the German homonymous fair show which has been the leading event of the industrial automation in Germany and Europe. By bringing suppliers and producers together, SPS Italia stands out as a major opportunity for the Italian automation sector. A prominent calendar of conferences and special projects makes the show a valuable opportunity for researchers and students. The event will take place in Parma.

FARE I CONTI CON L’AMBIENTE

RAVENNA, MAY 20-22

‘Ravenna 2015 - Fare i conti con l’ambiente’ is a locally true, open-content event focused on sustainability topics. It is a real show occurring in the old town where technique, cinema, music and arts can find their place. It consists of free initiatives, apart from the two educational events (‘Alte Scuole’ ) arranged by research centers and external institutions.

POLLUTEC

ALGERIA, MAY 25-28

SIEE Pollutec Algeria is an international trade show for water services, technology and equipment which will be held in Oran - Algeria from 25 to 28 May 2015. This trade show is an initiative promoted by the Ministry of Water Resources, started in 2005, in order to introduce an Algerian event for this priority sector. Visitors, mainly from private companies, will have the chance to meet 258 exhibitors, partly state-owned and international companies, from 16 countries.

WASTE Tech

MOSCOW, MAY 26-28

WasteTech exhibition and congress has become the main forum for waste management, recycling, renewable energy and environmental technologies in Russia and CIS. The exhibition will gather over 350 domestic and foreign companies to show advanced technologies and equipment. Foreign economic activity is an essential part of the development of the industry in Russia. The ninth WasteTech exhibition will be held in Moscow at the ‘Crocus Expo’.

CTT

MOSCOW, JUNE 2-6

The 16th International Show of Construction Equipment and Technologies will be held in Moscow. The CTT has rapidly developed into the most important trade fair for construction machinery, construction equipment and technology in Russia and CIS. It is directed at industry, trade, service providers from the construction and building material industries and especially to decision-makers from the procurement area.

POWER GEN

AMSTERDAM, JUNE 9-11

AQUACONSOIL

COPENHAGEN, JUNE 9-12

POWER-GEN EUROPE 2015 will take place in Amsterdam, alongside the Renewable Energy World Europe conference and exhibition. Power industry experts are gathered from more than 100 countries with more than 40% of attendees from either Senior or Middle management positions. For power industry professionals, it is an opportunity for innovation and new ways of operating, which will be discussed and debated during the event.

The 13th International AquaConSoil Conference will take place in Copenhagen and will focus on sustainable use and management of soil, sediment and water resource. The conference provides great opportunities for scientists, companies and policy makers to extend and enforce their network and start new cooperation activities.

The program will offer: thematic sessions, special sessions, exhibition, courses and more.

LAB-MED/CHEM-MED

MILANO, SEPTEMBER 22-24

‘CHEM-MED - The Mediterranean Chemical Event’ will be held in the exhibition area Fieramilano. It will be a spectacular event characterized by the following topics to discuss: laboratory equipment, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, chemical process, chemistry and chemical engineering, and more. The Mediterranean Chemical Event usually takes place every two years.

REMTECH Expo

FERRARA, SEPTEMBER 23-25

WasteTech exhibition and congress has become the main forum for waste management, recycling, renewable energy and environmental technologies in Russia and CIS. The exhibition will gather over 350 domestic and foreign companies to show advanced technologies and equipment. Foreign economic activity is an essential part of the development of the industry in Russia. The ninth WasteTech exhibition will be held in Moscow at the ‘Crocus Expo’.

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