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Fincantieri, Hera team on circular economy waste managementFincantieri, Hera team on circular economy waste management

When fully operational, the NewCo is expected to process 100,000 tons of industrial waste per year.

Anne Kalosh, Editor, Seatrade Cruise News & Senior Associate Editor, Seatrade Cruise Review

January 13, 2025

2 Min Read
Fincantieri CEO Pierroroberto Folgiero, left, shakes on the NewCo CircularYard's launch with Hera Group CEO Orazio IaconoPHOTO: FINCANTIERI

Fincantieri and Hera Group formed CircularYard to improve waste management, supporting a circular economy.

Almost €13m in investments are planned to design and build new facilities and upgrade and optimize infrastructure and equipment in an initiative that targets 15% waste reduction in the first year.

Fincantieri and Hera Group, among Italy's largest multi-utility companies operating in the environmental, energy and water sectors, aim to create an innovative integrated waste management system in Fincantieri's eight Italian yards and, in future, to plan to further expand operations to other Fincantieri sites abroad.

The CircularYard joint venture is born from a July 2024 memorandum of understanding.

Innovative strategies

Thanks to the know-how and expertise of Hera Group companies, the initiative will introduce innovative, sustainable strategies to provide greater control over suppliers and promote transparency, safety and quality throughout the supply chain. When fully operational, the NewCo is expected to process 100,000 tons of industrial waste per year.

CircularYard is 60% owned by Hera Group (55% by Herambiente Servizi Industriali and 5% by A.C.R. di Reggiani Albertino S.p.A.) and 40% by Fincantieri.

Overseeing the entire waste management process

CircularYard will be responsible for overseeing the entire waste management process, with a specific focus on the operational management of facilities to better exploit disposable waste and recoverable residues. The ultimate goal is managing nearly 100,000 tons of industrial waste produced each year in Fincantieri's shipyards and increasing the items that can be reused, especially iron, wood, plastic and paper, by 15% in the first year.

In parallel, initiatives will be studied to enable the model to become fully operational by building advanced facilities such as for water treatment and reuse or copper recovery, and optimized waste management.

Treatment plants

The model will be brought to full capacity by building treatment plants with the latest technologies in Europe, and optimized waste management. This will be done by designing and building chemical-physical plants for water treatment and reuse, expanding and upgrading temporary storage facilities with new sorting areas and new copper recovery facilities.

CircularYard's launch 'adds a piece in our futher commitment to the adoption of virtuous circular economy procedures within our shipyards,' Fincantieri CEO Pierroroberto Folgiero said. Ultimately, he hopes this will help confirm Fincantieri's role as a world-leading in sustainability, cost effectivness and new operating models in shipbuilding.

Hera Group CEO Orazio Iacono added: "We are proud to put our advanced expertise, plant engineering excellence, and many years of experience in the circular waste management process at the service of the first Western shipbuilder to promote the regeneration of urban and industrial areas.'

About the Author

Anne Kalosh

Editor, Seatrade Cruise News & Senior Associate Editor, Seatrade Cruise Review

Anne Kalosh covers global stories, reporting both breaking and in-depth news on cruising's significant people, places, ships and trends. A sought-after expert on cruising, she has moderated conferences around the world, including the high-profile State of the Industry panel at Seatrade Cruise Global. She created and led the acclaimed itinerary-planning case study for Seatrade's cruise master classes held at Cambridge and Oxford universities. She has been the cruise columnist for AFAR.com, and her freelance stories have appeared in a wide range of publications, from The New York Times to The Miami Herald.

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