Manufacturing capital

The Group's commitment to a circular economy is also embodied in its use of waste that is not usefully recyclable as materials by recovering it in waste-to-energy (WtE – Waste to Energy) plants where it is transformed into electricity and, in the case of cogeneration plants, into heat to be fed into the district heating network.
Here, the third production line of the Parona waste-to-energy plant began operating in 2023, with a total treatment capacity of about 380 ktonnes/year and a power generation capacity to be transferred to the grid of more than 210 GWh per year.
Two plants, Corteolona and Castelleone, were upgraded and integrated with biomethane production. The Castelleone plant will produce 5.2 million cubic meters of biomethane, serving about 5,000 households.  The Corteolona plant, when fully operational, will have a treatment capacity of 100,000 tonnes of sludge to obtain about 4 million cubic meters of biogas each year, transforming most of it into 2 million cubic meters of biomethane, and the remainder being used for electric energy production. The biomethane produced will be used for the fleets of the Group's waste collection companies. The project thus represents an example of a true circular economy of the recovery cycle within the Group. 
Last, the revamping of the flue gas filtration system with heat recovery at the Brescia waste-to-energy plant was completed in 2023.

Actions designed to grow the Group's photovoltaic and wind power plants were many during 2023. The main one was the start-up of a wind farm in Matarocco, Sicily, with an installed capacity of 30 MW. AEB has also started on the construction of a photovoltaic plant and the related infrastructure, called “Santo Stefano,” in an area bordering with the towns of Santa Maria la Longa (UD) and Pavia di Udine (UD). The plant, which is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2025, will have a peak capacity of approx. 60 MW.

Unareti's efforts to improve the resilience of power grids also continued in 2023 with the inauguration of a primary power substation in Vobarno, in the province of Brescia in September. The existing cabin underwent major refurbishment of all low, medium, and high voltage systems, new ones were installed to double the power (about 6MW) and a new HV/MV transformer with a nominal power rating of 40MVA was commissioned. 

The Unareti, LD Reti, and RetiPiù companies obtained a total of 4.3 million euros from the Regulatory Authority for Energy Networks and the Environment (ARERA) for four experimental projects under Resolution 404/2022/R/gas “Pilot projects to optimize the management and use of infrastructures in the natural gas sector,” based on the prospects for energy transition and decarbonization. More specifically, Unareti will implement a new AI-based management system to reduce methane emissions from the grid; it will also develop new generators to recover energy normally dissipated during transition from the transmission network to the distribution network. LD Reti will test a system to optimise feeding into the grid of biomethane produced by the plants. RetiPiù will launch a project to reduce the impact of methane emissions from the distribution network by using monitoring tools to enable early detection.

The detection and reduction of water leaks continued in 2023: 920 km of the network were inspected while work on the Aquarius project continued with the installation of sensors (noise loggers) for real-time detection of the “noise” of pipe leakages. 

Work to resolve EU infringements involving the lack of sewage treatment continued as planned. All wastewater agglomeration infringements, where not already resolved, are being resolved, some work is under completion, other work is in the design phase. According to forecasts, all infringements will be completely resolved by 2027.

A2A E-Mobility and Acinque Innovazione act as a Charging Point Operator (CPO), i.e., an entity that develops, maintains, and operates public charging infrastructures (“columns”). In 2023, the more than 433,000 charges in the more than 1,000 columns managed by A2A and Acinque (more than 600 of which were installed in 2023) corresponded to about 7.1 million kWh of electricity delivered. This amounted to over 47 million km travelled with zero emissions and avoided more than 10.4 thousand tons of CO₂ emissions. 

During 2023, with the inauguration of the first series of City Plug columns in Brescia, entirely designed by A2A, the Group gave a new impetus to the development of private electric mobility in urban areas with an ever more widespread and innovative charging network, also serving electric cars with small batteries and plug-in hybrids. The project brings the experience of the domestic wall box to the street, fostering the spread of a new model with low power delivery (up to 7.4 kW per outlet).

The A2A Group has an organizational unit that continues to oversee cybersecurity management. It has established a monitoring and management model within the Group Security & Cyber Defence team that is integrated with Internal Control and Risk Management (SCIGR). As in previous years, international certifications were obtained:

• the Information Security Management System (also referred to as “ISMS”) h which the Group implemented in 2023 obtained ISO/IEC 27001 certification for the new converged cyber IT and OT security incident monitoring and management processes delivered by the Group’s Cyber Defence Center;
• as the first multi-utility to obtain ISO 22301 certification for its Business Continuity Management System, this was extended to the areas of hydroelectric generation for A2,A and gas and electricity distribution for LD Reti and Unareti;
• the A2A Spa companies were the first in Italy to obtain ISO/ IEC 62443-3.2 certification --as far as hydroelectric generation is concerned -- and Unareti for the cyber security of Industrial Control Systems (OT).