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The energy consumption of a productive industry is necessarily significant: if the first objective is to minimise the need for energy, optimizing processes and eliminating waste, on the other hand the priority is to aim more and more firmly towards renewable sources of supply. It is precisely in this direction that the investments put in place by Specialtrasfo in recent years: a commitment that has allowed us to meet almost all of our energy needs thanks to solar and that, by the end of this year, will allow us to produce much more energy than our production plant needs, as part of a philosophy based on the achievement of a Carbon Negative production.

As September 2022, the production plant could count on a nominal installed capacity of 66 kW for an annual production of about 85 thousand kWh: considering the average consumption of the Agrate site, except for the power needed to test the produced transformers, which is about 150 thousand kWh, with the plants in operation we were able to cover 57% of our annual needs thanks to solar energy. The goodness of the decision to provide us with a modern and efficient solar system has encouraged us to accelerate on this road, so much so that in the following months the nominal installed power was 100 kW, for an annual production of 126 thousand kWh, 84% of our energy needs.

A trend we have no intention to stop; not only we decided to reach the total coverage of the company’s annual energy consumption, but we will go further.  Specialtrasfo has allocated the funds and organized the works so that by the end of 2023 the nominal installed base has doubled, which will increase from 100 to 200 kW and will allow us to cover about 160% of our needs: in this way we can both contribute to the production of an increasing share of clean energy and support industrial expansion over time.
For Specialtrasfo the environmental issue is a priority which is shown not only by the measures taken, such as the implementation of a high-level solar system, but also by the invitation to the ABB Energy Efficiency Supplier Symposium organized by the Energy Efficiency Movement, of which we have already talked in a dedicated article. The goal of the meeting was to find practical ways to plan the energy future and to put more and more into practice all those technologies that are already available today to make a difference. Well, we believe in it, and this is one of the many demonstrations.

There is a lot to talk about Sustainability, a word that immediately brings to mind the various initiatives that certify the company’s commitment to society and even more to the environment. Fundamental principles in the management of a company today, but we tend to forget a third – equally important – form of Sustainability: the Economic one. The first duty of a company, whatever the field of activity, is in fact creating a solid reality, capable of absolve its commitments to the market in correct time and manner, capable of guaranteeing a work environment that generates serenity for employees, suppliers, and customers. In conclusion, the sense of existence of a company is closely related to its ability to relate correctly and punctually with all economic stakeholders.

For this reason, obtaining the Cribis Prime Company it is a particularly important recognition, which testifies to the efforts made over the years by Specialtrasfo to create a solid and trustworthy company and attest its full reliability. This prestigious recognition, which is recognised only to a small percentage of companies, well below 10% of the millions of companies operating in the Italian territory, takes into consideration a vast number of variables and measures the probability that a company generates serious commercial insolvency.

The obtaining of the Cribis Prime Company is, for the entire reference chain, an assurance that the company places itself at the highest levels of reliability from the point of view of commercial relations: “We are proud to have gained this recognition from Cribis – it is the comment of Dr. Fabio D’Orazio, commercial director of Specialtrasfo – Although in a difficult period from an international point of view, marked first by the Covid-19 pandemic and by the long chain of problems that ensued and then by the Ukrainian conflict, which is severely testing the balance between countries, we always paid particular attention to the economic situation of the company. How much the situation we are living can weigh on a firm accustomed to operating on a global stage is easily understandable: despite this, we have on the one hand always guaranteed quality supplies, maintaining excellent levels from all points of view, while on the other it is for us an indispensable principle to always honor with precision and punctuality all business commitments, including payments to suppliers”.

The Cribis Prime Company certificate is issued by Cribis D&B, a company of the CRIF group, specialising in the supply of commercial information, particularly with regard to the economic reliability of the companies. To make these ratings, the Cribis D&B Rating is used, a synthetic indicator generated on the basis of a specific statistical algorith.

In every society, in every time and place, in spite of cultural differences and technological progress, it has always been known: unity is strength. People working together will be able to produce ideas and results that go far beyond the sum of individual efforts: a principle all the more true if it concerns complex and priority topics such as energy efficiency and security. Topics that we had the pleasure of discussing together with an international pool of colleagues at the ABB Energy Efficiency Supplier Symposium that was held in Helsinki, Finland, last February. At the meeting, during which we were able to attend interventions of the highest level and present our approach, 12 selected realities were  invited in a parterre of about 10 thousand: although Specialtrasfo was the smallest company, the choice of the Energy Efficiency Movement on this occasion fell on us because of the commitment shown on all issues related to sustainability, from the new location with reduced environmental impact to the policies of recycling and reuse of waste materials, up to the commitment in the production of energy from photovoltaic systems with the aim of covering more than 100% of its electricity needs and so on.

During the two days the present realities have been engaged in the identification and the search of solutions for the reduction of the energetic consumptions: on the other hand, this is the philosophy of the Energy Efficiency Movement, organizer of the symposium in which can participate representatives of industry and academia world or representatives of  the public sector and other institutions interested in practical and immediate action. Two factors are at stake: on the one hand Energy Efficiency and on the other, closely linked, Energy Security.

Today, in fact, the second cannot exist without the first and is therefore no longer just an environmental issue - however fundamental - but also a crucial factor of the economic well-being and social stability of nations. The central issue of Energy Efficiency not only offers pragmatic, real and enforceable solutions to address problems and achieve the goals of the Paris Accords, but offers solutions that are already applicable now. To confront each other, create awareness about existing solutions and engage in the development of increasingly efficient tools and technologies, Lasting and sustainable is our daily commitment and - as we have been able to see for ourselves on this occasion - an objective that is increasingly shared internationally.

The available technologies to private individuals and companies to make the so-called energy transition are different and now widely available: the idea behind most of these initiatives is to lead to the electrification of instruments and means previously powered by other energy sources and producing the necessary electricity from renewable sources, that can range from small photovoltaic panels to the most complex agrivoltaic, from large wind farms to the renewal and expansion of hydroelectric already widely existing.
If this is the main road, there are, however, industrial sectors and processes in which the electrification process is not possible and other forms of energy are therefore required: so, we will be forced to leave these cases behind, continuing to feed them as we have always done? No, of course: for the so-called Hard to Abate sectors (where it is difficult to reduce pollutant emissions) the simplest and applicable answer is green hydrogen.
 
When we talk about hydrogen, we must make an important distinction: even today in the world we use several million tons of hydrogen to produce energy. It is hydrogen often produced from fossil fuels and, in particular, from natural gas: it is clear that, even if there was the environmental issue - which unfortunately is well present -The use of this fuel would be unsustainable, not least because of the international situation which has arisen in recent months. Whether it’s black, purple, gray or even blue hydrogen - these are the names depending on the production methods - only green hydrogen is totally clean.
 
For this reason, we can say yes to hydrogen, but yes to the green hydrogen: it is so called the hydrogen produced through water electrolysis processes that take place in special electrochemical cells. These, in order to achieve the desired sustainability, must be powered with electricity from renewable sources: so, the circle closes. Green hydrogen currently accounts for a very small percentage of global hydrogen production, but things are rapidly changing and the push towards this important fuel with high sustainability characteristics is getting stronger. Consequently, the technologies development for its production is also pushing: one of the sore points in this process, in addition to the high costs, is the high amount of energy needed for the green hydrogen creation.
 
Specialtrasfo, not only believes in the goodness and feasibility of this transition and in the green hydrogen’s use in the Hard to Abate sectors, but we are personally committed to the design and implementation of increasingly high-performance and efficient technologies: All the actors in the production chain have the duty to collaborate and to do their part to make decarbonization less and less a dream and more and more a reality.
How do we enter the green hydrogen world? With our transformers intended to power the rectifiers which serve the electrolysers, then the plants that perform the electrolysis process. That’s why we like to think that we are at the heart of green hydrogen production.

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Tecnologie per la decarbonizzazione: l’idrogeno verde tramite elettrolisi

Le tecnologie a disposizione di privati e aziende per compiere la cosiddetta transizione energetica sono diversi e ormai ampiamente disponibili: l’idea alla base della gran parte di queste iniziative è quella di portare all’elettrificazione di strumenti e mezzi fino ad ora alimentati tramite altre fonte energetiche e di produrre l’elettricità necessaria attraverso fonti rinnovabili, che possono andare dai piccoli impianti di pannelli fotovoltaici al più complesso agrivoltaico, dai grandi parchi eolici al rinnovamento e ampliamento dell’idroelettrico già ampiamente esistente e così via.
Se questa è la strada maestra, vi sono però settori e processi industriali in cui il processo di elettrificazione non è possibile e sono dunque richieste altre forme di energia: saremo dunque costretti a lasciare indietro questi casi, continuando ad alimentarli come si è sempre fatto? No, naturalmente: per i settori cosiddetti Hard to Abate (cioè in cui è difficile abbattere le emissioni inquinanti) la risposta più semplice e applicabile è quella dell’idrogeno verde. Quando si parla di idrogeno bisogna infatti fare un importante distinguo: già oggi nel mondo di utilizzano diversi milioni di tonnellate di idrogeno per produrre energia. Si tratta però di idrogeno prodotto spesso partendo da combustibili fossili e in particolare dal gas naturale: è evidente che, se anche non vi fosse la questione ambientale – che purtroppo invece è ben presente -, l’utilizzo di questo combustibile sarebbe insostenibile anche solo per la situazione internazionale che è venuta a crearsi in questi ultimi mesi. Che sia idrogeno nero, viola, grigio o anche blu – queste le denominazioni a seconda dei metodi di produzione – solo l’idrogeno verde è totalmente pulito. Dunque, idrogeno sì, ma idrogeno verde: viene così chiamato l’idrogeno prodotto attraverso processi di elettrolisi dell’acqua che avvengono in apposite celle elettrochimiche. Queste, per raggiungere la desiderata sostenibilità, devono essere a loro volta alimentate con elettricità proveniente da fonti rinnovabili: così il cerchio si chiude. Attualmente l’idrogeno verde rappresenta una percentuale davvero esigua rispetto alla produzione globale di idrogeno, ma le cose stanno rapidamente cambiando e la spinta verso questo importante combustibile dalle alte caratteristiche di sostenibilità è sempre più forte. Spingendo di conseguenza anche lo sviluppo della tecnologia necessaria alla sua produzione: uno dei punti dolenti in questo processo, oltre ai costi ancora alti, è infatti l’alta quantità di energia necessaria alla generazione di idrogeno verde. Specialtrasfo non solo crede fermamente nella bontà e nella fattibilità di questa transizione e nell’utilizzo dell’idrogeno verde nei settori Hard to Abate, ma si impegna in prima persona nella progettazione e realizzazione di tecnologie sempre più performanti ed efficienti: tutti gli attori della filiera produttiva hanno infatti il dovere di collaborare e fare la propria parte per rendere la decarbonizzazione sempre meno un sogno e sempre più realtà.
Come entriamo noi nel mondo dell’idrogeno verde? Con i nostri trasformatori destinati ad alimentare i raddrizzatori che a loro volta servono gli elettrolizzatori, quindi gli impianti che eseguono il processo di elettrolisi. Per questo ci piace pensare di essere al cuore della produzione di idrogeno verde.