Energy: Online ENEA-Farmindustria guide to energy audits in the pharmaceutical sector

The operational guide by ENEA and Farmindustria to prepare energy audits in the pharmaceutical sector is online.

The guide is part of the "Energy efficiency notebooks" created as part of the "Research of the electricity system 2019-2021", initially funded by the Ministry of Economic Development and now by the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

The result of a close collaboration between ENEA and Farmindustria, the guidelines provide useful information and indications to pharmaceutical companies that need or want to perform an energy diagnosis in their manufacturing plants. The analysis of the nearly 100 mandatory energy diagnoses submitted to ENEA so far has highlighted how the incidence of auxiliary consumption including, for example, air conditioning, cold generation and HVAC systems[1] weighs predominantly, up to 70%, on the consumption of the entire production plant.

As a proof of this peculiarity, almost all of the approximately 450 possible energy efficiency interventions reported in the energy audits are attributable to auxiliary services. These interventions, if carried out, would lead to energy savings of over 11 ktoe / year, equivalent to the average annual electricity consumption of about 22 thousand families.

"In 2019, a quarter of the companies in the sector carried out and submitted to ENEA at least one mandatory energy audit on their production sites, as required by art. 8 of Legislative Decree 102/2014 ”, pointed out Ilaria Bertini, Head of the ENEA Energy Efficiency Unit Department. "The pharmaceutical sector – she said - is an energy-intensive sector, where the impact of energy consumption on production costs is considerable particularly in this critical time. The study, addressed at operators in the sector, is a useful tool both for carrying out quality energy audits and for encouraging companies to implement energy efficiency measures".

"Pharmaceutical manufacturers have always paid great attention to energy efficiency and, in general, to sustainability" said Massimo Di Martino, member of the Presidency Committee of Farmindustria. "And the data prove it - he said - given that in the last ten years there has been a 59% decline in energy consumption and 32% in climate-altering gas emissions. We want to be more and more an example of environmental sustainability and quality of work. The guide created by ENEA and Farmindustria therefore represents an opportunity and an operational tool for companies in the sector to improve efficiency through knowledge of energy performance and technological solutions to be used in production processes".

Italy is one of the leading European pharmaceutical producer. Our industry scenario is composed of a balanced mix of multinationals, medium-large companies with Italian capital and SMEs, which generate a production value of 34 billion euro, employ 67,000 people and invest 3 billion euro a year in research and production.

Farmaceutico - Quaderni dell'efficienza energetica (versione italiana)

The free operational guide by ENEA and ASSOFOND to prepare energy audits in the industrial foundry sector is also online:

Fonderie - Quaderni dell'efficienza energetica (versione italiana)

The free operational guide by ENEA and Utilitalia for energy audits in the waste incineration sector is also online:

Incenerimento - Quaderni dell'efficienza energetica (versione italiana)

[1]  Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning