20/12/2023 – Energy efficiency and reduction of environmental and carbon footprint
Sustainable aluminum production
The aluminum rolling division of Elval Halcor S.A., Elval, has placed an order with SMS Group for the delivery of its Viridis Energy+Sustainability Suite for its flat-rolled aluminum manufacturing plant based in Oinofyta, Greece.
Elval Halcor uses the Viridis Energy+Sustainability Suite from SMS group for the aluminum flat rolling mill at the Oinofyta site in Greece. © SMS Group
This milestone marks a significant step forward in enhancing Elval's sustainability initiatives and energy management capabilities. Elval Halcor is one of the leading flat rolled aluminum manufacturers worldwide. With an annual capacity of 450,000t, the project will make a significant contribution to the company´s goal to reduce carbon emissions and optimize overall production processes.
The partnership between SMS and Elval exemplifies a shared vision of sustainable and responsible industrial practices. With the installation of two modules of the Viridis Energy and Sustainability Suite, Viridis Performance and Viridis Grids, Elval will be equipped to meet the ever-increasing demands for responsible and energy-efficient management in the aluminum industry.
Viridis Performance enables energy and utilities consumption modeling by considering contextual factors such as raw material and product characteristics, production levels, and quality standards. The software provides a precise understanding of the impact of different production routes, real-time monitoring of consumption deviations, automatic event generation, and an online journal for data logging. Checklists with standard operating procedures and countermeasures ensure swift corrective actions, and precise quantification of deviations aids in performance improvement. Automated machine learning (Auto ML) resources calculate targets automatically, maintaining relevance in changing production conditions. It will comprise over 70 equipment assets, such as melting furnaces, preheating furnaces, hot and cold rolling mills, among others.
Viridis Grids will support Elval to precisely and autonomously calculate energy consumption forecast based on the production plan via automated machine learning resources. Leakage detection will be enabled by means of online mass balancing of meters. Online power demand is calculated based on measurements and online production.
Instead of settling in advance on a fixed scope for the whole project (as in traditional waterfall projects), this project will follow an agile methodology which allows the deployment team of both SMS and Elval to create a backlog of jobs to be done and prioritize its execution as the implementation advances. This way, the project will be much more flexible and will create value much quicker.
Thiago Turchetti Maia, CEO of SMS digital, commented, “We are excited to provide our Viridis Suite to Elval, a forward-thinking company committed to environmental stewardship. This collaboration reflects our dedication to offering cutting-edge solutions that help our clients reduce their environmental impact while improving their operational efficiency.”
Elval’s Electrical+ Electronic Maintenance Deputy Director Drakotos Athanasios stated: “Our partnership with SMS group represents a significant step in our sustainability journey. The Viridis Energy & Sustainability Suite aligns perfectly with our commitment to sustainable aluminum production and reducing our energy and environmental footprint. We are confident that this investment will have a positive impact on our operations and support our carbon footprint reduction pathway”.
