An innovative Italian SME has developed and patented a revolutionary composite material combining extreme lightness and flexibility with high strength and rigidity. The material can find applications in several industries, the company is particularly interested in proposing it for patch repair in oil&gas sector. The company is therefore interested in technical cooperation agreements with oil & gas companies or companies dedicated to maintenance in this specific domain.
Natural gas (NG) supplies 22% of the primary energy used worldwide and represented the 28% of the primary energy consumption in EU28 (2018). It's role as a “bridge fuel” helping industries to move away from fossil fuel is undisputed; however NG is 85-95% composed by methane, a potent greenhouse gas itself, which is 28 times more impactful than CO2 over a 100-year period, and 86 times stronger over a 20-year period due to its shorter atmospheric lifespan.
Methane distribution networks and urban distribution pipes are indeed subject to high levels of leaks. The leaks of the distribution account for about 59% of the generated emissions. If one consider that leakages > 3% in the distribution system will be enough to negate the climate benefits of substituting coal with natural gas, one can easily understand why methane emissions management and reduction are among top priorities for the EU gas industry in the short-term.
Yet, the global service gas networks rely on an average 30-year-old and ageing infrastructure; much of it has already reached the end of its original design life, and is kept safely running through a robust replacement and repair work, a major part in the network's activity and investment. Primary objectives of efforts to address leak-prone pipes are to preserve public safety and maintain the reliability of supply delivery.
Repairing buried pipeline can be extremely costly: labour costs, safety issues and traffic management are just some of the critical points. In addition, civic authorities will charge utilities for the time an excavation is left open to encourage the quickest backfill time (negative economic impact for operators), as service must be disrupted (difficulty provided to end-users); gas leak repairs can also vary in cost depending on the extent of the leak, the materials pipes are made of, its location, and where it is occurring in the gas line system; a skilled workforce is hence required to be acknowledgeable for each individual repair procedure. Moreover, often operators are forced to make provisional repairs (done in emergency to avoid large gas leakage an safety issues) followed by definitive repairs, doubling the costs of each leakage occurrence.
An innovative Italian SME has developed and patented a revolutionary composite material combining extreme lightness and flexibility with high strength and rigidity. The material can find applications in several industries as explained below, but the company is particularly interested in the oil & gas industry.
Thanks to its simultaneously rigid and flexible structure, the repair solution can be applied quickly and in a repeatable way (in about 15 minutes on average, as opposed to about 1-2 hours for repairs using traditional methods), while achieving a permanent repair, in which the composite material itself restores not only the tightness, but also the mechanical properties of the repaired pipe section.
The company can provide the operators of gas distribution networks (who normally carry out a significant part of the network repair activities by themselves) and to a number of selected third party operators working on behalf of the first ones in the field of repairs a service consisting of:
1) The supply of individual repair kits, including all consumables needed to carry out a single repair; The kits will be characterised by different types depending solely on the dimensions (5 sizes) and on the working pressure of the pipe (4 types).
2) A mobile application that enables to document the repair carried out, associating the unique code of the kit used for the repair with the code of the operator, the location and type of repair and other essential data for tracking the repair.
3) A training and certification activity for operators wishing to be qualified to use the patch repair kit.
Lightness: 20% lighter than traditional composites
4 times lighter than ABS and aluminum
Compactness: Easy rolling, transport and storage
Resistance: 5 times more efficient than structural steel with equivalent weight
Insulation: 3 times higher than aluminum and steel, 2 times higher than ABS.
Vibration Damping
Thermoforming: achievable with standard production processes, in the desired geometry.
Environmental impact: 5 times less than that of ABS and aluminum.
Aesthetic finishes: Infinite combinations of materials and aesthetic finishes.
The company is interested in contacts for technical agreements or commercial agreements with technical assistance with oil&gas companies or maintenance companies in this sector. Potential partners can be end users, installators, maintenance providers, etc.
Technological fields
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Transport and storage of gas and liquid fuels
ENERGY / Energy storage and transport
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Heat transport and supply; district heating
ENERGY / Energy storage and transport
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Plant Design and Maintenance
INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING; MATERIAL AND TRANSPORT
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Construction maintenance and monitoring methods & equipment
INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING; MATERIAL AND TRANSPORT / Construction Technology
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Composite materials
INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING; MATERIAL AND TRANSPORT / Materials Technology
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Installations related to construction (energy; lighting; …)
INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING; MATERIAL AND TRANSPORT / Construction Technology
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Liquid fossil fuel
ENERGY / Fossil Energy Sources