Sentry meters, to detect water leaks in the network contatori_kampsturp_110.jpg The Flow IQ® 2200 manufactured by Kamstrup, a well-established European supplier, is a sentry meter that can “listen” to the network thanks to a built-in hydrophone, i.e. a sensor designed to capture sounds and other acoustic signals underwater, which in this case is able to detect the noise associated with any water leaks. By placing the meters at strategic points in the network, about 50 metres apart, it is possible to create a grid within which continuous monitoring can be carried out. The meters transmit to a digital platform (called the LeakDetector) the minimum value of noise detected in 24 hours: if this is high, the meters will be highlighted with different alarm levels and analysis of the data will make it possible to identify whether it is indeed a water leak. If a leak or break code is activated for a meter, the customer will be notified promptly by our technicians. The meter testing phase started in May 2022 with the installation of more than 900 meters in the municipality of Conselice, where continuous monitoring of the water network began in September 2022 with real-time analysis of the leaks present, thereby allowing targeted intervention for repairs. The results achieved at Conselice and the award of PNRR financing for the reduction of water leaks led to the extension between 2023 and 2024 of the installations of this advanced smart meter also in the provinces of Modena (1150) and Ferrara (1200). A further 8300 installations will follow in 2025 with PNRR funding in the areas of Bologna, Ravenna, Forlì-Cesena and Rimini.   The Conselice pilot project: benefits noted Reliability The meters are extremely reliable, the leak and break indications that were verified were correct and no false positives were found. Promptness We intervened before customers called us: many leaks were repaired the day after they appeared, whereas previously some leaks would only have been detected following issue of a bill with an unusually high consumption figure. Permanent monitoring Compared to the installation of standard meters, the main difference is that with Flow IQ® 2200s, a permanent water leak monitoring system is put in place. Kamstrup meters are also smart meters and automatically send data to the portal. Rapid localisation If the meters are correctly positioned, field localisation is quick because the area to be investigated is confined. Integration The system interfaces seamlessly with other company monitoring tools. Affordability By correctly establishing the number of meters required, good network coverage is achieved without an unsustainable increase in costs. no

A source of clean energy from sewers and wet waste: Biomethane null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null An investment of Euro 37 million. A plant that disposes of 100 thousand tonnes of organic waste produced by separate waste collection and another 35 thousand tonnes coming from green waste and pruning material. And that, once "digested", produce 7.5 million cubic meters of biomethane fuel that is 100% renewable and 20 thousand tonnes of compost. Impianto Biometano foto 1 Impianto Biometano foto 2 Impianto Biometano foto 3 Impianto Biometano foto 4 Impianto Biometano foto 5 Impianto Biometano foto 6 Impianto Biometano foto 7 Impianto Biometano foto 8 Impianto Biometano foto 9 Impianto Biometano foto 10 Impianto Biometano foto 11 Impianto Biometano foto 12 Impianto Biometano foto 13 Impianto Biometano foto 14 Impianto Biometano foto 15 null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null HERA-impianto-biometano_032__DSC9813.jpg These numbers tell the success story of our state-of-the-art plant in Sant'Agata Bolognese, just outside Bologna: the latest great and ambitious project to add to our long list of waste treatment facilities (89 in total, including waste-to-energy plants, composters, and sorting plants). With one big goal: to relaunch the challenge of renewables on an industrial scale and make this plant a reference structure for green energy in Europe. Biomethane: a clean resource of biological origin But what makes this natural gas source organic? Simply, the way to get it: not by drilling for hidden deposits in the deepest parts of the Earth but by fermenting organic waste in plants designed to do so. Biomethane can, therefore, be produced for as long as you want, it is endless, and production can be increased simply by building other plants. Making the process one of the purest examples of the circular economy. In Spilamberto, a biodigester converted into a biomethane plant An innovative plant for the production of biomethane came into operation in October 2023 in Spilamberto, in the Modena area. It was created by NewCo Biorg, the result of the partnership between the Hera Group and the Inalca company (Cremonini Group), thanks to a total investment of approximately 28 million euros and the use of the best available technologies. Starting from the separate collection of organic waste and agri-food wastewater, the plant - created from the conversion of an old biodigester - produces 3.7 million cubic meters of biomethane every year when fully operational, a 100% renewable fuel intended for transport, and approximately 18 thousand tons of compost. A cutting-edge plant for the energy transition and the circular economy The 100% renewable natural gas is produced in the plant from the anaerobic digestion of organic waste coming from the separate collection carried out mainly in Modena and its district, from the waste resulting from the manufacturing process of the local agri-food industry and from the production process of Inalca's meat. Once refined, it becomes biomethane and can be introduced into the gas network. The environmental benefits are important: around 7 thousand tonnes of CO₂ are avoided Thanks to the introduction of biomethane into the network and its use in transport, significant environmental benefits are estimated: every year the use of approximately 3 thousand tonnes of fossil fuel oil equivalent (TOE) will be saved and CO₂ emissions will be avoided for approximately 7 thousand tons. To absorb such a quantity of CO₂, an average of 280 thousand trees would be needed. What happens in our sant’agata facility Organic waste, obtained through separate waste collection, is processed by anaerobic digestion to produce biogas. How? The waste, shredded and screened, remains for about 21 days in 4 horizontal digesters, where suitable microorganisms carry out the digestion process to produce biogas (consisting of natural gas and carbon dioxide). Then the biogas is upgraded using pressurized water to dissolve the carbon dioxide and separate the natural gas. The result is biomethane, a gas with a methane content of over 95% and a completely renewable energy source. But that's not all. At the end of the digestion process, wood-cellulosic material is added to the resulting solid matter to obtain a compact mass that is sent to composting, to produce quality compost, which can be used as potting soil for vases or as a fertiliser in agriculture. Come find out more about our Sant'Agata Bolognese plant. Biomethane is, therefore, another revolution based on the circular economy, which all of us in the Hera Group want to pursue. Again, to create shared value, as Herambiente's CEO, Andrea Ramonda, is determined to emphasize: “The direction we have taken addresses the industrial world as increasingly oriented towards creating shared value and partnerships. We are aware that sustainable waste management, focused on the recovery of waste and compliant with the rules, is an essential factor in today's world, and one that delivers benefits to the entire community). The idea of the exhibition came from the photographic project commissioned in 2018 to Silvia Camporesi on the occasion of the work being done on the Sant'Agata Bolognese site. The report has been enriched with other shots, thus becoming the complete story of the development of the plant. The exhibition consists of 11 large-format photographic works which reveal where and how waste takes another form and becomes biofuel. Technology, innovation, industrial process, efficiency, circularity are the messages underlying each of the images captured by the artist. Silvia Camporesi visited the plant every month for a whole year, documenting the evolution and changes to the facility. 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Hergo Reti: the smart approach to emergency service and maintenance hergo reti.jpg More than 130 thousand emergency response reports involving 1,500 employees in 2019. More than 50 thousand emergency response operations in the first six months of 2020, in a local area that includes Emilia-Romagna, Triveneto and Marche. These numbers speak for Hergo Reti, Hera Group's platform that effectively manages our operations, maintenance, technical assistance, and emergency response activities. Efficiency, performance and satisfaction are the key words that have guided us along the development of Hergo Reti, a project included in our Utilities 4.0 plan. Since its introduction in 2018, the "Geocall" IT platform has enabled us to simplify our processes by applying the benefits of digitalisation to emergency response activities. In the past, the persistence of paper documents or data accessible only from a fixed location slowed down operations. The need for constant telephone contact with assistants and the use of multiple devices for different functions did not improve process efficiency. Today, thanks to "Geocall", everything has become accessible via smartphone: from the technical information of the user systems to the data on service personnel, up to the creation and allocation of the work phases, the consultation of multimedia documents attached to the work orders and road navigation to the location of the report. no

Robotics at the service of humankind Will the future belong to machines? That is the main question that arises when dealing with issues such as Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. Two disciplines that have literally revolutionized the way we do our business, radically changing its processes. Robotica.png Predicting the future is not up to us. However, we are certain of one thing: automation processes are the key to increasing the value of the people who work for the Hera Group. Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, in fact, have enabled us to automate all the repetitive and low value-added business processes. By doing so, we can let people have more time for more qualifying activities and enhance their intellectual capacity on processes that generate more value for the company. Thanks to the Robotic & Intelligent Process Automation platform, a project that is part of our Utilities 4.0 plan, we have obtained significant results, speeding up the process and making the operations more reliable in the 7 processes we have started in recent years: the management of the suppliers' DURC (Unified Certificate of Social Security Payments Compliance), the communications between seller and energy distributors, the seller's Order Entry process, the expense reports, the service notices related to waste management services, the work orders to replace meters in the networks and, lastly, the virtual assistant for planning meetings and booking meeting rooms. By introducing dashboards that monitor automated activities, we can act promptly on business processes, continually optimizing productivity and efficiency. The aim is to extend the scope of automated processes to new areas thanks to their continuous technological evolution, for example, with tools such as semantic text interpretation engines and optical character recognition (OCR) systems. The challenge to make our processes smarter and smarter is just beginning.