On 24 October, Sofresid Engineering, a subsidiary of Saipem with headquarters in France, was awarded with the Grand Prix national de l'ingénierie (national engineering grand prize) in the innovation category, for Elemanta, a cutting-edge solution capable of reducing carbon footprint in ports.
The award was handed to Francis Armengaud, Sofresid Engineering CEO, and Camille Hypousteguy, LNG development manager of the company, during the MEET' INGÉ 2019, a career day dedicated to young engineers.
This is one of the most prestigious French innovation awards organized annually since 2006 by Syntec-Ingénierie, the professional engineering federation, in collaboration with the French Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition and with the Directorate General for Enterprise of the Ministry of the Economy and Finance and in partnership with the Moniteur publishing group.
Elemanta is a technological platform designed to be implemented in ports to provide ships docked at the quay with electricity and an extensive range of services: heating and cooling systems, drinking water, hot water, plastic collection and recycling solutions, as well as storage and use of hydrogen.
This is an LNG-fuelled solution with a low environmental impact that allows ships to cut CO2 emissions by 25% and drastically reduce nitrogen oxide emissions as well as the formation of particles due to the combustion of maritime diesel and fuel oils with a high sulfur content, normally used by ships for power generation, even when docked.
Similar to a floating barge and easily transportable, the system also helps towards the significant reduction in electrical infrastructure investments and can be moved to supply energy and treated water to specific areas in the event of natural disasters.
Elemanta is an innovative solution to the environmental challenges the world is currently facing.