Energy solutions in the manufacturing industry: reliability and innovations
Author: Polona Štumpfl Erjavec, director of energy and environmental solutions in industry and residential buildings
At Petrol, we are assuming the leading role in responsible resource management and increasing the amount of self-sufficiency throughout the region. We are connecting smart city development interests and promoting the transition to a circular economy and a low-carbon society.
Our energy solutions for industrial partners include innovative purchase options and a reliable power supply, development and management of smart energy networks, power station management services, controlling consumption to optimise energy costs, building and managing industrial and urban wastewater treatment plants, environmental issue solutions and expert support and setting up a filling infrastructure that will allow the transition to alternative fuels.
We supply consumers with all types of energy products
At Petrol, we use renewable resources and fossil fuels to produce power and heat. We are also putting surplus power from the steel industry and other technological processes to good use. In this way we are linking industry and local communities through district heating, with Ravne na Koroškem being a best-practice example.
We are ensuring self-sufficiency with electric power, heat and steam. We supply our customers with quality electric power, ensuring reliable operation of the distribution network and optimising costs and supply routes.
Smart energy and water distribution networks
We develop and manage smart energy distribution networks for natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, electric power, heat, drinking and industrial water, compressed air, technical gases and steam in industry and self-contained economic areas. Petrol experts plan, build, manage and maintain energy equipment.
We are refurbishing energy installations and infrastructure and introducing renewable energy sources into the manufacturing industry and cities. We also offer comprehensive and competitive solutions for planning, building, renovating and managing lighting systems.
We aim for efficient use of drinking water, urban wastewater and technical water and lowering our environmental footprint. By relying on systematic approaches and measures, we are helping solve environmental problems, such as emissions of air pollutants, noise and waste management. At Petrol, we build and manage urban wastewater and industrial water treatment plants. We process the waste sludge that accumulates in water treatment plants into a secondary fuel.
We encourage our partners to transition into a circular economy. In 2010 we took over an industrial treatment plant in Vevče that processes wastewater produced during paper manufacturing.
We plan, build and manage boiler rooms in the manufacturing industry and residential buildings
We are ensuring efficient energy and water use by introducing comprehensive measures for efficient energy use. We manage and maintain boiler rooms and integrate production sources for heat, steam, compressed air and industrial water, including renewable resources, cogeneration, heating substations and energy distribution systems. We manage consumption, recover heat and install efficient ventilation systems.
By implementing comprehensive and efficient lighting solutions, we lower costs for our partners and subsequently reduce environmental strain. We implement lighting control and automation systems in compliance with regulations. We also conduct targeted energy inspections and monitor and optimise the power supply for high-demand consumers or business areas.
At Petrol, we also carry out energy projects that follow the energy contracting model. In such projects we can provide most of the investment funds and assume the technical and financial risks for project execution and guarantee savings in energy product consumption.
We are developing alternative fuels and encouraging their use
We are aware that the role of electric power in transport and developing vehicles of the future is increasing. We are one of the leaders in electric mobility in Slovenia and in the wider region. We manage thirty-nine electric vehicle charging stations on the motorway network and in Slovenian municipalities. We are expanding our infrastructure and promoting the use of electric propulsion.
We make it possible to refuel vehicles with traditional (petrol, diesel) and alternative propulsion (LPG, electricity) methods. Petrol is the key player in encouraging the use and development of alternative fuels such as liquid petroleum gas and electricity. We are advising our customers regarding the transition to alternative fuels: from establishing a vehicle fleet to setting up their infrastructure. We are remaking petrol and diesel engines. This is especially sensible for trucks and buses that have a higher consumption and cover more distance every year.
Petrol aims to become the leading manufacturing industry partner in energy system and solution development and comprehensive energy supply and the leading provider of energy solutions for unit-owned property and property managers in Slovenia. We are already developing new business models to achieve these aims. At the moment we are segmenting industrial consumers and zones and unit-owned property and property managers in Slovenia. We are active within the steel industry, partnering with SIJ in Ravne na Koroškem and Štore, and in the paper industry, partnering with Paloma in Sladki Vrh. Our goal is to transfer our business model to south-eastern Europe by 2020.