The British company CogenPower announced that from this month on, one of its plants in Italy would benefit from a 100% automated artificial intelligence system.
The 3 MWe / 15 Mwth cogeneration plant, located in Turin, supplies a heat network that provides power to 4,600 people through 13 kilometers of pipeline.
The move to a 100% automated system means, according to CogenPower, that the plant can now be managed without a human team.
The Artificial Intelligence software makes it possible to connect the plant, the energy storage equipment and the network thanks to fiber optics. This means that the company can now manage infrastructure, distribute heat and even manage billing without human intervention.
This project should enable the operator to save nearly € 250,000 per year.
Dr. Francesco Vallone, CEO and founder of CogenPower, emphasized upstream research:
This is a major breakthrough resulting from a long R & D program to improve our technology, which completely differentiates us from competing systems.
Traditional cogeneration systems in which technology is implemented are made more efficient, which creates long-term added value and allows for more carbon-friendly business.
A combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Italy has been upgraded with artifical intelligence (AI) software, meaning it no longer requires on-site staff to operate it.
Italian firm Cogenpower’s 3 MWe/15 MWth plant in Turin includes a heat storage facility and supplies district heating to around 4600 customers through a 13 km pipe network.
Cogenpower says the installation of its Anaconda artificial intelligence software means the CHP plant and district heating operation can be run unmanned.
The software connects the plant, storage facility and network through a fibre optic network. Cogenpower said it is now able to run the facilities, distribute heat through the network and handle billing without any staff.
The retrofit is projected to save the plant’s operator over €250,000 ($268,000) per year.
Dr Francesco Vallone, Cogenpower’s founder and CEO, said: “This breakthrough is a significant step for Cogenpower following an extensive R&D programme to advance our unique technology, which clearly differentiates us from other systems”.
“It will generate important efficiencies in any traditional CHP district heating systems in which it is implemented, creating long-term value and driving a low-carbon energy business that ultimately does not have to rely on incentives to fund its growth.”
