The search for water leaks is now more efficient, thanks to cosmic rays
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Web Content Article on-date Sep 3, 2020 2:34 PM
2020-08-05 Bologna, 05 August 2020 - The following table contains the data concerning the shares outstanding and the number of voting rights representing the share capital as at 31 July 2020. ...
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Web Content Article on-date Jul 15, 2020 12:28 PM
2020-07-15 Integrated Governance Index 2020 - Top10 For the third consecutive year, the Group ranked first in the inquiry on integrating ESG factors within corporate finance. After pioneering this...
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Web Content Article on-date Jul 6, 2020 2:55 PM
2020-07-06 After being included in the FTSE MIB in March 2019, Hera stock is now listed on this important series of ethical indexes created by FTSE Russell to encourage investment in companies that...
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Web Content Article on-date Jul 2, 2020 5:41 PM
2020-07-02 Communication of the overall amount of voting rights Bologna, 02 July 2020 - The following table contains the data concerning the shares outstanding and the number of voting rights...
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Web Content Article on-date May 8, 2020 10:48 AM
2020-05-08 Kindly note that as of today the minutes of the Shareholders Meeting held on 29 April 2020, as well as the articles of association containing the amendments approved by the...
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Web Content Article on-date Apr 29, 2020 4:22 PM
2020-04-29 The Group continues along its path of growth, creating value for shareholders and local areas. Continuity in governance, with the new Board of Directors confirming Tomaso Tommasi di...
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Web Content Article on-date Apr 8, 2020 12:26 PM
2020-04-08 riunione.1501227958.jpg Publication of documents related to the AGM of 27 April 2017 The lists containing candidates for the appointment of the Board of Directors and the board of...
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Web Content Article on-date Apr 7, 2020 7:23 AM
2020-04-07 Publication of the draft Separate and consolidated financial statements at 31/12/2019 Kindly note that the following documents, approved by the Hera S.p.A. Board of Directors, have been...
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Web Content Article on-date Apr 2, 2020 4:19 PM
2020-04-03 With reference to the Extraordinary and Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting of Hera S.p.A., convened at the registered office in Bologna, Viale C. Berti Pichat no. 2/4, for the day of 29...
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Web Content Article on-date Mar 17, 2020 8:27 AM
2020-03-17 Kindly note that the following documentation, pertaining to the Shareholders Meeting convened for 29 April 2020, is available to the public at the Company headquarters, on the...
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Web Content Article on-date Jan 31, 2020 8:47 AM
2020-01-31 Hera acquires 2.5% of Ascopiave's share capital from Amber Hera acquires 2.5% of Ascopiave's share capital from Amber. The shareholding purchase operation, which arose from a market...
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Web Content Article on-date Jan 30, 2020 1:11 PM
2020-01-30 Tomaso Tommasi di Vignano - Hera's Executive Chairman The Group has been certified for the eleventh consecutive year, rewarding a strategic management that focuses on people and gets...
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Web Content Article on-date Jan 24, 2020 4:11 PM
2020-01-24 The multi-utility has now become part of this index, which measures gender equality and the promotion of diversity and inclusion, examining 325 listed companies, 10 of which Italian, in...
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Web Content Article on-date Jan 21, 2020 10:24 AM
2020-01-21 Calendar of events CALENDAR OF CORPORATE EVENTS (*) In accordance with art. 2.6.2 (Required Reporting) of the "Rules of the markets organised and managed by Borsa Italiana S.p.A.",...
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Web Content Article on-date Jan 10, 2020 10:35 AM
2020-01-10 In light of the positive preliminary results for 2019, showing higher growth than expected in the previous Plan, and the M&A transactions carried out, the Group has presented its new...
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Web Content Article on-date Jan 10, 2020 10:35 AM
2020-01-10 In light of the positive preliminary results for 2019, showing higher growth than expected in the previous Plan, and the M&A transactions carried out, the Group has presented its new...
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Web Content Article on-date Jan 3, 2020 1:54 PM
2020-01-03 (drafted pursuant to article 85-bis, paragraph 4-bis, of Consob Regulation 11971 / 14 May 1999) Communication of the overall amount of voting rights Bologna, 3 January 2020 - The...
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Web Content Article on-date Dec 19, 2019 6:08 PM
2019-12-19 Gruppo Hera e Ascopiave The transaction between the two companies, finalised today, marks the birth, through EstEnergy, of the largest energy operator in North-Eastern Italy, whose BoD...
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Web Content Article on-date Dec 3, 2019 3:55 PM
2019-12-03 (drafted pursuant to article 85-bis, paragraph 4-bis, of Consob Regulation 11971 / 14 May 1999) Communication of the overall amount of voting rights Bologna, 3 December 2019 - The...
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Web Content Article on-date Oct 3, 2019 12:30 PM
2019-10-03 (drafted pursuant to article 85-bis, paragraph 4-bis, of Consob Regulation 11971 / 14 May 1999) Communication of the overall amount of voting rights Bologna, 3 October 2019 - The...
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Hera continues experimentation of the innovative, fast and low-cost contactless system that uses space technology to detect water leaks in the network more quickly and productively
So far, the method used to find leaks in the water mains that run under our streets has been acoustic detection: technicians walk the kilometres of asphalt above the mains and use special devices to locate leakage points.
Now, however, thanks to a system that uses cosmic rays, detection can also be carried out while following the network path in a car, thus proving faster and more profitable.
Cosmic rays: what are they and how can they be used?
Cosmic rays are an innovative method for water leak detection, based on the analysis of neutrons derived from secondary cosmic rays. It follows the same principle used to test whether there is water on Mars, but it can have different applications; for example, it is used in agriculture in the US for targeted irrigation.
In short, this technology exploits non-damaging particles, the neutrons, from space. These continuously impact Earth, generating collisions between secondary beams, the energy of which decreases according to the material that is passed through. In particular, hydrogen in water interacts with neutrons by slowing them down or absorbing them. The amount of water in the ground can therefore be assessed by monitoring neutrons in the air: ground where water is present in a higher percentage will have a greater moderating/absorbing effect on cosmic rays than a drier area.
By analysing the concentration of free cosmic rays, the presence of a water leak can be determined quickly and accurately, saving considerable time compared to traditional methods of investigation. In fact, this system can control a considerably larger network area, because it can travel on any vehicle on which it is mounted.
The search can be carried out by real-time identification, i.e. simply by the passage of the device over the tube and immediate verification of the leakage as soon as the sensor signals a decrease in the number of neutrons, or by deferred search, when the sensor placed on a moving vehicle passes over the area several times and then indicates the wettest spots.
The operator will no longer need to walk the entire water network with the geophone, but can go directly to the points identified on the map.
Experimentation and results
Together with the Department of Nuclear Physics at the University of Padua, we have developed a device that, mounted on a car, allows operators to travel along the network and monitor the concentration of neutrons on the road surface.
The vehicle moves at a speed of 40-50 km/h along the road under which the water network runs and, using cosmic ray analysis, the levels of detected neutrons are shown on a display. When the concentration drops, it is a sign that the neutrons have been retained under the soil by a cluster of water. When this happens, it means that there may be a water leak in that very spot, underground, and technicians can promptly intervene for repairs.
The testing of this technology, which we have been conducting since 2021, has confirmed the scientific soundness of the method: out of several thousand kilometres investigated, the same number of ruptures were found as with the traditional acoustic method, but with the advantage that the cosmic ray method is more productive, since the operator moves around in a car rather than on foot.
With a network of some 30,000 kilometres to check, having this tool allows us to make great strides. In addition, cosmic rays are sensitive to even modest leaks, such as those from pipe joints, which are more difficult to detect accurately.
This technology, which we have implemented thanks to a partnership with the start-up Cosmic and the team at Neptune Srl, is based on an isotope of lithium, lithium-6, which is the element that allows us to detect neutrons. We will continue to use it alongside the classic acoustic method, to locate all possible leaks and increase the level of effectiveness of interventions.
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