The search for water leaks is now more efficient, thanks to cosmic rays
Focus
Focus
Category Facet
Custom Facet
Search Results
-
Web Content Article · written-by LUCIA ALGISI on-date Feb 16, 2024 3:19 PM
Hera in the Top 1% of S&P Global CSA Score banner_227x350_global_corporate_sustainability_assessment_csa_score_2023_EN.png...
-
Web Content Article · written-by LUCIA ALGISI on-date Feb 16, 2024 2:53 PM
Hera Top Employer for the 15th Consecutive Year banner_227x350_top_employer_EN.png banner_227x350_top_employer_EN.png The company reaffirms, once again in 2024, its position among the best...
-
Web Content Article · written-by ELENA FARRE on-date Feb 13, 2024 3:37 PM
Sì 2024 Hera Top Employer for the 15th Consecutive Year The company reaffirms, once again in 2024, its position among the best performers in human resources management, thanks to substantial...
-
Web Content Article · written-by LUCIA ALGISI on-date Feb 14, 2024 11:49 AM
We have been confirmed among Europe’s leading companies for our commitment and transparency in the fight against climate change. It achieved an “A-” score in the assessment drawn up by CDP...
-
Web Content Article · written-by ELENA FARRE on-date Feb 12, 2024 6:29 PM
2024-02-13 The Group achieved the leadership band in the CDP questionnaire and was included among “TOP 1%” Multi and Water Utilities of the S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook 2024. These...
Comunicati stampa: Hera Spa Other press releases -
Web Content Article · written-by ELENA FARRE on-date Feb 6, 2024 2:42 PM
Today, the Hera Group, through its subsidiary Hera Comm, was definitively awarded 7 lots (the maximum number allowed, out of the 26 into which the country is divided) in the national tender called...
-
Web Content Article · written-by ELENA FARRE on-date Feb 6, 2024 11:39 AM
2024-02-06 With the 7 lots awarded in the tender for the Gradual Protection Service for non-vulnerable household customers, the Hera Group consolidates its position as the sector’s third largest...
Comunicati stampa: Hera Spa Other press releases -
Web Content Article · written-by ELENA FARRE on-date Jan 25, 2024 3:55 PM
We are top multi-utility worldwide in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index img_down_jones-rev.jpg For the third year in a row, we have been confirmed as world leader in the Multi-Utility & Water...
-
Web Content Article · written-by ELENA FARRE on-date Jan 25, 2024 3:51 PM
We are in the Top 10 of the Diversity & Inclusion Index img_refinitiv_rev.jpg In the international ranking of Refinitiv’s 2022 “Diversity & Inclusion Index”, we are included in the TOP10 globally,...
-
Web Content Article · written-by THOMAS CECCONI on-date Jan 25, 2024 3:16 PM
The Hera Group has further strengthened its Italian leadership in the waste management sector, particularly in industrial waste treatment, thanks to the binding agreement signed today by its...
-
Web Content Article · written-by LUCIA ALGISI on-date Jan 25, 2024 2:07 PM
2024-01-25 With the acquisition of 70% of the Piacenza-based company, the Group reinforces its leadership in the waste management sector. This transaction, at full capacity, is expected to...
Comunicati stampa: M&A Hera Spa Other press releases -
Web Content Article · written-by LUCIA ALGISI on-date Jan 24, 2024 12:34 PM
Business Plan to 2027, operating and financial highlights 2027 Ebitda: 1.650 billion euro (+27% compared to 2022) Five-year investments at 4.4 billion euro Increased return on net invested capital,...
-
Web Content Article · written-by THOMAS CECCONI on-date Jan 24, 2024 12:09 PM
2024-01-24 Development, resilience and creating shared value for stakeholders are at the heart of the Group’s new strategic document, which foresees investments totalling 4.4 billion to speed up...
Comunicati stampa: Price sensitive Financial Results Hera Spa Other press releases -
Web Content Article · written-by ELENA FARRE on-date Jan 22, 2024 6:03 PM
SI Business plan to 2027 Go to site NO No Sinistra
-
Web Content Article · written-by LUCIA ALGISI on-date Jan 19, 2024 2:43 PM
2024-01-22 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.", please find below our annual...
Comunicati stampa: Shareholders’ meeting Hera Spa Other press releases Price sensitive -
Web Content Article · written-by LUCIA ALGISI on-date Jan 19, 2024 4:56 PM
The meeting of the BoD to approve ad interim results as at 31 March 2024 will be held on 14 May 2024. The Board of Directors, as communicated for the previous financial year and in line with the...
Tipologia Evento: Price sensitive -
Web Content Article · written-by LUCIA ALGISI on-date Jan 19, 2024 5:10 PM
The meeting of the BoD to approve ad interim results as at 30 September 2024 will be held on 13 November 2024. The Board of Directors, as communicated for the previous financial year and in line...
Tipologia Evento: Price sensitive -
Web Content Article · written-by LUCIA ALGISI on-date Jan 19, 2024 5:03 PM
The meeting of the BoD to approve ad interim results as at 30 June 2024 will be held on 31 July 2024. The BoD will meet in Bologna - Viale Berti Pichat 2/4 40127 Bologna. A press release on the...
Tipologia Evento: Price sensitive -
Web Content Article · written-by LUCIA ALGISI on-date Jan 19, 2024 4:50 PM
The meeting of the BoD to approve the Financial Results as at 31.12.2023 will be held on 26 March 2024. The BoD will meet in Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 2/4 40127 Bologna. A press release on the...
Tipologia Evento: Price sensitive -
Web Content Article · written-by ELENA FARRE on-date Jan 18, 2024 3:39 PM
We are certified Top Employer for the 15th year in a row, ranking among the top three Italian companies, standing out for employment policies. Awarded by the Dutch Top Employers Institute, a global...
Asset Publisher
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.
Search Bar
Tag Facet
Search Results
Asset Publisher