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Web Content Article on-date Aug 24, 2021 2:54 PM
Go to the 2022 report costruire insieme il futuro_en.png Building the future Together Discover the partnerships between the company and the local community
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Web Content Article on-date Dec 30, 2020 12:26 PM
Go to the 2020 report sulle tracce dei rifiuti_en.png Tracking Waste Find out where your separate collection goes
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Web Content Article on-date Dec 30, 2020 12:22 PM
Go to the 2020 report Header Mille Volti (1).png 1000 faces to service Discover the initiatives for our customers and the territory
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Web Content Article on-date Dec 30, 2020 12:21 PM
Go to the 2022 report energie per il clima_en.png Energy Solutions for the Climate Discover how you can reduce greenhouse gas emissions with us
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Web Content Article on-date Dec 30, 2020 12:19 PM
Go to the 2021 report in buone acque_en.png In Good Waters Discover the quality of water at zero km
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Web Content Article on-date Jan 8, 2021 2:05 PM
2020-12-30 Sede Hera The Hera Group hereby communicates that, as of 1 January 2021, Mr. Roberto Barilli, General Manager of Operations for Hera S.p.A., will leave his office for retirement. The...
Comunicati stampa: Price sensitive -
Web Content Article on-date Dec 29, 2020 5:30 PM
SI Twitter NO No Sinistra
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Web Content Article on-date Dec 29, 2020 5:29 PM
SI See all the latest news NO No Centrato
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Web Content Article on-date Dec 29, 2020 5:26 PM
SI Latest news, events and awards in sustainability NO No Sinistra
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Web Content Article on-date Mar 24, 2021 5:22 PM
S&P Global's Sustainability Award S&P Global's Sustainability Award The Hera Group has received a worldwide gold medal for social responsibility. S&P Global, indeed, has awarded the company its...
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Web Content Article on-date Dec 29, 2020 4:11 PM
SI News from the Hera Group: an increasingly smart way of paying bills Projects in brief NO No Sinistra
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Web Content Article on-date Dec 29, 2020 4:12 PM
SI "Più alberi in città" (More trees in town) in Ferrara through the use of waste collection centres Projects in brief NO No Sinistra
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Web Content Article on-date Dec 29, 2020 4:05 PM
SI Shared value? Let's build it together The Hera Group has published a new report in which the engagement of customers, associations and individuals is put at the centre, describing the many...
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Web Content Article on-date Dec 29, 2020 4:14 PM
SI Aliplast enters the world of cosmetics Projects in brief NO No Sinistra
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Web Content Article on-date Dec 29, 2020 4:13 PM
SI The environmental education activities of the Hera Group Projects in brief NO No Sinistra
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Web Content Article on-date Dec 29, 2020 4:00 PM
SI Combating food waste: CiboAmico is 10 years old Through this project, the Hera Group has recovered from its company canteens more than 91,000 meals not consumed and donated to non-profit...
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Web Content Article on-date Dec 29, 2020 4:07 PM
SI The HeraLAB model: more dialogue and co-planning Recently started in Bologna and Rimini, in 2018 this model was applied to the areas of Ferrara and Ravenna, involving 24 representatives of the...
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Web Content Article on-date Dec 29, 2020 4:01 PM
SI 2018 sustainability report: focus on shared value, area by area The new sustainability report approved on 27 March by the Board of Directors of Hera Spa has been published. The Group centres the...
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Web Content Article on-date Dec 29, 2020 4:10 PM
SI In Bologna, buses and taxis run on Hera biomethane Projects in brief NO No Sinistra
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Web Content Article on-date Dec 29, 2020 3:54 PM
SI YEAR XII EDITION N.2 29 APRIL 2019 NO No Sinistra
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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.
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.
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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