The search for water leaks is now more efficient, thanks to cosmic rays
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Web Content Article on-date Jul 16, 2018 4:21 PM
The senior management of the Group will be presenting financial results as at 30 June 2018 to the italian financial market in a road show organized by Fidentiis. Fiorenza Bavieri 2018-08-01...
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Web Content Article on-date Jul 14, 2017 12:51 PM
Meeting of the BoD to approve ad interim results as at 30 june 2018. The BoD will meet in Bologna - Viale Berti Pichat 2/4 40127 Bologna at 11 am CEST. A press release on the board's discussions...
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Web Content Article on-date Aug 22, 2017 1:27 PM
Hera's senior management takes part in the second edition of the Italian Sustainability Day at Palazzo Mezzanotte - Borsa Italiana. The aim of the day is to support the dialogue between listed...
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Web Content Article on-date Aug 22, 2017 1:23 PM
Hera's senior management participates in the financial event of Mediobanca, where the managing directors of the major Italian listed companies present the business to national and international...
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Web Content Article on-date Aug 28, 2018 3:16 PM
assemblea_2018_870x320.1535623015.png Fiorenza Bavieri 2018-06-18 Fiorenza Bavieri sede_hera_110.1592477872.1603377620.jpg 766 00:00:00 Tommaso Tomasi di Vignano e Sefano Venier 23:59:00 Ex date...
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Web Content Article on-date Aug 22, 2017 1:11 PM
Hera's senior management attends the investment conference organized by Unicredit, in partnership with Kepler Cheuvreux. The conference, organized at the Milan headquarter of Unicredit, is an...
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Web Content Article on-date Aug 22, 2017 11:37 AM
Meeting of the BoD to approve ad interim results as at 31 march 2018. The Board of Directors, as communicated for the previous financial year and in line with the past, in order to guarantee...
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Web Content Article on-date Jul 14, 2017 12:49 PM
During 2018 AGM financial results as at 31/12/2017 are approved and major fiscal year events are presented to shareholders, with special focus on CSR and creation of shared value key indicators. ...
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Web Content Article on-date Jul 14, 2017 12:44 PM
Meeting of the BoD to approve Financial Results as at 31/12/2017. The BoD will meet in Bologna - Viale Berti Pichat 2/4 40127 Bologna at 11 am CEST. A press release on the board's discussions and...
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Web Content Article on-date Aug 22, 2017 12:56 PM
Place: Milan, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Zurich, Geneva, Brussels, Amsterdam, New York, Boston, Chicago. Date: 01/11/2018 Milan 01/16/2018 London 01/23-29 Paris Bruxelles Zurich Geneva 01/25...
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Web Content Article on-date Aug 22, 2017 12:46 PM
Hera's senior management participates in the conference organized by Equita SIM, meant to put in the spot light the best players of the Italian financial market. Meetings with Italian and...
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Web Content Article on-date Jan 23, 2017 3:05 PM
h. 11: Meeting of the BoD approves financial results as at 30 September 2017. The BoD will meet in Bologna - Viale Berti Pichat 2/4 40127 Bologna at 11 am CEST. A press release on the board's...
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Web Content Article on-date Jan 23, 2017 3:05 PM
Starting from 15 days prior to the price sensitive event, Hera cannot release any type of information related to the last trimester. However, it is possible to get in touch with the IR team for Q&A...
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Web Content Article on-date Aug 22, 2017 12:42 PM
Group Senior Management meets every year national and international funds that are interested in the infrastructure sector, in order to present Hera and its financial results as at 30 June 2017. ...
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Web Content Article on-date Jan 23, 2017 3:03 PM
h. 11: Meeting of the BoD approves financial results as at 30 June 2017. The BoD will meet in Bologna - Viale Berti Pichat 2/4 40127 Bologna at 11 am CEST. A press release on the board's...
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Web Content Article on-date Jan 23, 2017 3:02 PM
Starting from 15 days prior to the price sensitive event, Hera cannot release any type of information related to the last trimester. However, it is possible to get in touch with the IR team for Q&A...
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Web Content Article on-date Jun 16, 2017 5:54 PM
Ex date on 19 June 2017 and payment on 21 June 2017. Fiorenza Bavieri 2017-06-19 Fiorenza Bavieri sede_hera_110.1592477872.1603377620.jpg 733 00:00:00 23:59:00 Ex date on 19 June 2017 and...
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Web Content Article on-date Jan 23, 2017 3:00 PM
h. 11: Meeting of the BoD to approve ad interim results as at 31 march 2017. The BoD will meet in Bologna - Viale Berti Pichat 2/4 40127 Bologna at 11 am CEST. A press release on the board's...
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Web Content Article on-date Jan 23, 2017 2:55 PM
Starting from 15 days prior to the price sensitive event, Hera cannot release any type of information related to the last trimester. However, it is possible to get in touch with the IR team for Q&A...
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Web Content Article on-date Aug 26, 2016 4:21 PM
During 2017 AGM financial results as at 31/12/2016 are approved and major fiscal year events are presented to shareholders, with special focus on CSR key indicators. Buyback plan is going to be...
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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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