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After the important experience of the i-Recovery system, ORI Martin strengthens its partnership with Turboden by signing a new and important project on industrial sustainability. The HEATLEAP PROJECT, "Low-Grade Waste Heat Recovery in steel-making industry by coupling of Large Heat Pump and Gas Expander" is realized in collaboration with other important companies in Brescia such as A2A, the CSMT – Centro Servizi Multisettoriale Tecnologico, Rina consulting and Cogen Europe and financed by the European Commission on the LIFE 2020 call.

Through two highly innovative technologies, the HEATLEAP project can recover most of the thermal waste of steelmaking, which would otherwise be dispersed in the environment. A special heat pump called LHP (Large Heat Pump), recovers the waste heat coming from the low-temperature thermal waste of the steel plant, and elevates it from about the actual 70°C to 120°C, to transfer it to the city's district heating network.

The second technology used, called GEX or "gas expander", is a solution to improve energy efficiency in industrial natural gas distribution and gas distribution infrastructure. By taking advantage of the pressure drop from the gas distribution network to the plant, GEX will enable ORI Martin to produce electricity for internal self-consumption.

The HEATLEAP project's main goal is to combine LHP and GEX technologies to make a large energy-consuming industry such as the steel plant more sustainable and better integrated into the city reality. It is estimated that the project will prevent the emission into the atmosphere of more than 5,000 tons of CO2, 2,000 kg of nitrogen oxides, and about 1,000 kg of sulfur oxides, thus combining economic advantages, environmental and social benefits for the surrounding community.

After the i-Recovery system, which has made ORI Martin a highly innovative example and a unique lighthouse project in Italy, "this new investment stems from the deep conviction, matured over several years, that the steel industry can play a leading role in sustainability and circular economy" - explained Giovanni Marinoni Martin, ORI Martin vice-president. 

"A crucial role for the success of this upgrade has also been played by our partners: Turboden, A2A, and CSMT, which have allowed to install in our steel mill a wholly Italian technology, which will probably be pioneering also abroad - added Roberto De Miranda, Member of the Executive Committee ORI Martin -. This is also demonstrated by the allocation of an important European fund, which highlights the goodness of the environmental objectives we have set ourselves to achieve".

Out of a total cost of 6.5 million Euros, the HEATLEAP project received a grant of 2.5 million Euros from the European Commission on the LIFE 2020 call for proposals. The project will officially start on 1 June 2020 and will last two and a half years.