Sustainable energy and research – the goals for 2050 from the ECCC Creep Conference 

182 researchers and spokespeople from the international energy sector industry pool forces and compare notes so as to tackle the mammoth challenges of the 21st century, thereby laying the foundations for an energy structure able to guarantee sustainability, safety and the generation self-supporting capacity for the diverse global needs. And research into innovative components and materials is the key to success.

ECCC2014 Conference Partecipants

Rome, May 8th – The third edition of the International ECCC Creep & Fracture Conference organised by Centro Sviluppo Materiali Spa (CSM), (a center of excellence in materials research and development) has just drawn to a close at the Barcelo Aran Mantegna Congress Centre. From 5^th to 7^th May, 182 world experts and spokespeople from the energy sector industries of 21 different countries met to discuss cutting edge research carried out on materials and components operating at high temperatures and in aggressive environments. All themes of paramount importance for environmental sustainability in energy generation, plant safety optimization and generation, energy savings and, last but not least, for economic development of all nations regardless of industrialization rate and status were also discussed.

“We must not shut our eyes to climate change,” are the words of  Pertti Auerkari, Chairman of the ECCC 2014 Conference and Finnish VTT researcher, “we must completely turn around our methods of energy production and consumption. For the time being, fossil fuel consumption remains inescapable, but it is possible to reduce the amount we consume and lessen the impact on the environment.  The role of government in this sense is critical”.

It is the aim of the International ECCC Creep & Fracture Conference 2014 to strengthen and extend the skills package of its participants and define the objectives to be reached in terms of research, design and standardization of energy generation sector materials.

“This clear intention bears out the level of commitment of the CSM to comprehend the sector industry’s needs and translate them into development and actual application” said Mauro Pontremoli, CEO of Centro Sviluppo Materiali.

The ECCC, a beacon for research

Set up back in 1991, the ECCC (European Creep Collaborative Committee) is the finest expression of European experts on the theme of creep and high temperature stress for materials such as iron-based/martensitic stainless steel, austenitic stainless steel and nickel based superalloys and similar and dissimilar butt joints. The ECCC voices and encapsulates the critical matters and future prospects of steel and special alloy manufacturers, and component designers and producers for thermal power stations and end-users (utilities).

“The ECCC is an important example of how the technical scientific community from various nations in the EEC can come together to work as a team, merging the databases of each single nation in order to construe the reference values for the European sector regulations,” said Augusto Di Gianfrancesco of CSM, Deputy Chairman of the Conference and Co-founder of the ECCC.  “The procedures and guidelines drawn up by the ECCC have stimulated much interest from the international community, thus opening borders and taking discussion about standards well beyond Europe. The attendance figures at this convention are proof of this,” he summed up.

The ECCC is earnestly involved in the European data development coordination on creep and in the ensuing activities of assessment and comparison, the purpose being to gather the resources available in each single member state, build up an optimal assessment based on creep values and ultimately set up high production and design standards.

Since 2005, the ECCC has organized annual international conferences to take stock of present situations and discuss future outlooks. From 2011 onwards, the organizational structure has become increasingly clear and well-structured and CSM has taken on the responsibility of technical Secretariat.

“The fact that the technical Secretariat of ECCC has been reconfirmed to CSM for the following three years until 2017 is important for our leadership in energy research,” said Pontremoli. “It is an excellent vantage point and provides food for thought on the research trends in the field of materials for use at high temperatures. It is also an effective tool in terms of technological monitoring and intervention in a sector where CSM has been a leader for decades”.

Breaking down frontiers for research 

Companies, institutes, university institutions and research bodies from all corners of the world played an active role in the workshops of the ECCC Creep Conference.[1]

“The excellent attendance confirms the growing importance of our role in providing support and technical skills in terms of safety and performance of the process plants and thermal power stations in Europe and worldwide” David Allen, an E.ON Researcher and Chairman of ECCC, pointed out.

Future energy scenarios according to the World Energy Council

The outlook and prospects of the world energy sector have been outlined in the World Energy Scenarios to 2050 report drawn up by the World Energy Council, and presented to the ECCC Conference by Gilberto Callera and Paolo D’Ermo, respectively Chairman and Energy Studies & Analyses Manager of WEC Italia.

“We have defined two world scenarios, called Symphony and Jazz,” explained Callera, “which require the worldwide coordination of national energy policies combatting climate change. This coordination would exert a positive influence on the single states in their choice of technologies for energy production and use”.

Symphony requires a strong commitment from governments in research and development of low impact technologies, such as renewable energies and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) which, together with nuclear energy, would make a huge contribution to the reduction of CO² emissions by 2050.

In the Jazz scenario, the growing energy demand would be met with more accessible and cheaper resources and more competitive technologies, in keeping with a pure market logic. “In this scenario” D’Ermo commented, “the technologies which would be most widely used in in the electrical sector, especially in China and India, would be supercritical coal and combined cycle gas with an upgrade of the installed capacity”.

The Centro Sviluppo Materiali, a benchmark for innovation

The Centro Sviluppo Materiali (CSM) is an applied research center which creates vanguard technological solutions in the materials sector, especially for steel and special alloys. It has six branches in Italy and more than 300 employees and consultants.

It has recently become part of RINA, an international certification and services company dealing in the naval, environmental, energy, infrastructure and transport sector, which has bought a stake of 50.5%.  The main shareholders of the Centro Sviluppo Materiali are Tenaris Dalmine, Acciai Speciali Terni, Finmeccanica, Fincantieri, Tenova, Vesuvius, Arvedi, SAIPEM, Polo Tecnologico Industriale Romano, ACEA and AMA.

Such a varied background means that it covers the entire range of the innovation process from the steel industry to physical and chemical processes right up to the production chain. The most important research and innovation aspects include supply chains, the steel industry, aerospace, Energy and the Environment, with special reference to the use of hazardous industrial waste to produce thermal and electric energy. (Waste-to-Energy).