There is a financial and environmental benefit in upgrading equipment than disposing of and buying anew, which not only costs time but also produces a large carbon footprint during the manufacturing process, Fabrizio Fabbri of EthosEnergy tells OGN

Fthosenergy is among a number of companies leading technological changes in the energy industry.

It supports companies and power plants in the energy transition by helping them reduce operating costs and decrease harmful emissions to the environment, with the overarching goal of making energy available, reliable, and sustainable for all.

Globally, the energy crisis has caused a wave of rising prices in economies. Countries and leading organisations in the industry are not immune from the crisis.

As the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the awareness and willingness to deal with global environmental issues, there is almost no industrialised country that is not investing resources in developing alternative energy technologies.

We’ve seen economies stop the use of coal, are switching to gas, reducing carbon emissions, implementing electric transportation, and advancing wind energy, solar energy, hydroelectric energy, geothermal energy and other alternatives.

Fabbri ... 'the transition to renewable energy must begin today'

EthosEnergy has been operating for over 50 years in over 100 countries around the world, providing advanced services and customised solutions for power plants and energy producers, in the fields of electricity, gas, fuel, industry and aviation.

It can find effective solutions to the complex challenges of customers, helping them align with the forefront of technological capabilities and advanced systems, reducing the total cost and benefiting from significant improvements in the lifecycle of equipment.

According to Fabrizio Fabbri, Executive Vice-President of East Hemisphere at EthosEnergy: "The transition to renewable energy, that will also influence price reductions, must begin today. From our experience with partners in the US and Europe, this is not a change that occurs overnight. It is rather a long process that must be implemented transversally and in depth in all sectors of the industry. And for that to happen, there must be cooperation between companies, trade bodies and organisations worldwide."

COST SAVING POTENTIAL OF EXTENDING LIFE ON EXISTING ASSETS

Within the energy industry, as the equipment approaches the end of its lifecycle, its efficiency decreases, the costs of operation and maintenance increase, and the carbon footprint grows.

EthosEnergy believes and proves that there is an economic and environmental benefit in upgrading and reusing equipment over simply disposing of it and buying new ones.

This is because the production of new equipment, such as turbines, compressors, etc, usually takes a considerable amount of time and produces a larger carbon footprint in the manufacturing process versus upgrading the existing asset.

Proper upgrading can contribute to burning less fuel for turbines

EthosEnergy uses advanced technology worldwide to extend the life of industrial equipment and systems, increasing energy efficiency and flattening the greenhouse gas emissions curve.

Some customers can upgrade existing equipment and get similar or even better output at much lower costs, instead of replacing most or all the equipment.

Even companies that still use linear models, like oil and gas and fuel companies, can begin incorporating technological changes into their systems gradually today.

For example, in a project with an US customer, steam turbine blades were upgraded using the exclusive EthosEnergy life extension technology.

The plant saved 60 per cent in outage costs (when compared to replacing the above with a new product).

This work was completed within a month, while ordering and manufacturing new blades would have taken a year and a half.

In another project at a chemical refinery using gas turbines, the customer sought to maximise performance and efficiency. And after the project was completed by EthosEnergy, electricity generation was increased by 70,000 MW per year and CO2 emissions were reduced by 27 tons, with efficiency contributing to burning less fuel for turbine propulsion and saving 465,000 MMBtu.

"We have been able to bring a reduction in capital and operating expenditures among power plants and companies by improving and upgrading the performance capabilities of existing equipment and increasing equipment lifecycle by over 100 per cent," says Fabbri.

COLLABORATION BETWEEN PUBLIC, PRIVATE AND ACADEMIA

The energy industry understands it has a responsibility to find ways to improve energy production processes and address the challenges of the future.

The outdated and uneconomical linear model of production-consumption-disposal is slowly giving way to innovative circular models, which emphasise the maximisation of equipment lifecycle, reducing waste volume, reusing resources and by-products, prioritising renewable inputs and more.

We are also witnessing a younger generation entering the business world and decision makers circles, which prefer responsible investments managed in accordance with ESG criteria.

In addition, when investors examine organisations and companies according to their carbon footprint and environmental protection criteria, the labour market and core company and organisation values change accordingly too.

At EthosEnergy, the ESG programme has also been aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Programme - an action plan for all countries of the world to promote growth and prosperity while preserving the planet, adopted by all UN member states in 2015.

"We welcome the fact that environmental responsibility is growing and the demand for sustainable and green energy is rising in the business world and energy sector. In order to overcome the energy crisis, a correlation between business conduct, social impact and environmental responsibility is required," says Fabbri.

He adds: "We have set ourselves the goal of investing in the development and implementation of technological processes, innovative types of energy and ways to make it accessible to our customers, and we will continue to support and guide customers throughout the process, while keeping our commitment to becoming leaders in the field of sustainable energy."
　

EthosEnergy is exhibiting at Stand 8538 at Adipec.