Parma, 21 July 2022 - Siram Veolia and the University of Parma together for a new collaboration to make the University more sustainable through a process of energy consumption reduction and decarbonisation and with energy efficiency measures and the use of renewable energy. The partnership is the result of a PPP - Public Private Partnership - agreement between the University and Siram Veolia as concessionaire.
The University's 32,000 plus students will have access to a Science and Technology Campus and other complexes which will be increasingly welcoming, innovative, eco-friendly, digitalised and modern. The project has been developed by an interdisciplinary team of experts from the Siram Veolia Group through constant dialogue with the University's technicians and researchers, and will also involve students in specific research and innovation initiatives.
The agreement, which takes the form of an EPC - Energy Performance Contract - entails the realisation of major works on the University's networks and plants designed to improve energy efficiency and reduce the consumption of fossil fuels. In particular, works will be carried out on Campus and in the University's complexes, with new solutions being introduced for the monitoring and management optimisation of the plants and networks over a 15-year period.
The project is based on a new strategic vision for the campus, which can be compared in every respect to an urban district, and has been developed in response to the need to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions, while taking into account the specific needs of the various users and the conditions required for the development of teaching and research activities. In line with the Group's integrated performance approach, the project guarantees positive results at the environmental, social and economic levels: it will enable the University to modernise its energy installations and networks, with significant reductions in energy consumption, costs and emissions. It will also create a living laboratory on campus to study new solutions for technological innovation in energy networks, plants and utilities, guaranteeing comfort, safety and high quality of service for students, lecturers and staff.
On an environmental level, it will also be possible to achieve an annual saving in primary energy consumption of about 1,037 toe (tonnes of oil equivalent), equal to 20% of the current situation, and an annual reduction in atmospheric emissions of 2,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide, equal to 19% of the current release (equivalent to about 50,000 trees planted).
Rector Paolo Andrei says "the agreement with Siram Veolia is important for the University's commitment to sustainable development. This partnership aims to reduce consumption, improve energy efficiency and use more renewable energy. It is a key example of how to achieve a sustainable future. We are pleased about this and believe it will benefit both partners".
"Together with the University of Parma, we have developed an ambitious project that seeks to become a model of sustainable, cutting-edge energy efficiency that can also be applied in other territorial contexts", says Emanuela Trentin, CEO of Siram Veolia. ‘We are proud to accompany the University on this ambitious path towards ecological transformation, through which we will be able to guarantee comfort, energy savings and reduced environmental impact,’ concludes Marco Bongiorni, Director of Siram Veolia's Centro Nord Business Unit.
TECHNICAL INSIGHTS
The completion of the works, expected by the end of 2023, will specifically lead to the construction of a new technological pole (with a trigeneration plant and a geothermal plant consisting of two heat pumps with a capacity of 2,135kWt served by five geothermal wells) that will supply the Campus heating system. In addition, in other complexes, maintenance work will be carried out on the casings to improve energy performance. Finally, each building of the University of Parma will be equipped with air conditioning systems that use low-GWP gas.
In the vicinity of the technology centre, a new groundwater well and related drinking water facilities will be built to make the university self-sufficient in drinking water supply.
The partnership between Siram Veolia and the University of Parma is based on a shared vision that combines the University's specific energy needs with the innovative potential of research and development activities. These activities are based on both theoretical studies and field tests on a Living Lab, which is a unique feature in the national and international context. The ambitious goal (which will require close collaboration between industry and the University well beyond the partnership timeframe) constantly looks at PEDs (Positive Energy District), with a view to increasing the percentage of renewable sources (to 50% and more) used to cover the University's energy consumption.
The plan is to expand the photovoltaic systems that can power the campus electrical grid, and also to build charging stations for electric vehicles in the various buildings of the university. On top of that, the project intends to use the wood-cellulosic biomass gasification plant built as part of the 'SYNBIOSE' research project, which was promoted by the MISE and co-financed by CSEA. Siram Veolia, the CIDEA (Interdepartmental Centre for Energy and the Environment) of the University of Parma and the Department of Engineering of the University of Ferrara were also involved in that project.
To achieve the desired outcomes in terms of consumption and emission reduction, while maintaining consistent performance monitoring, a series of coordinated actions have been planned to 'digitise' the University's plants, energy networks and utilities. The latest digital technologies will be used to set up a complete real-time energy flow control and monitoring system, which will enable the acquisition and processing of the University's energy and environmental data in real time. This will enable the deployment of specific predictive diagnostics functions, as well as the use of innovative algorithms (already tested during the collaboration between SIRAM Veolia and the University of Parma) for the optimised management of the University's energy networks, which will result in a reduction of primary energy consumption. The University of Parma will be the first Italian university to have continuous monitoring of air quality through the installation of probes and monitoring systems to verify compliance with comfort conditions (with reference to the parameters of temperature, humidity and concentration of pollutants such as PM10, PM2.5, CO, CO2, VOC).
