Research and Development Project EN.TE.R.PR.I.S.E. (2021-2022)

Altair Chimica submitted an application in 2020 for funding as part of the call for Research and Development Projects by the Region of Tuscany (within the Regional Operational Programme for Growth and Employment) and the European Union (through the European Regional Development Fund). The application was for the Research and Development Project EN.TE.R.PR.I.S.E. (ENhanced TEchnological R&D of new PRoducts and Processes for Innovation, Smart factory, and green Economy). This project focuses on advanced technological research and the development of new products and processes for Innovation, the Smart Factory (Industry 4.0), and the Green Economy. The project was approved for funding and successfully concluded at the end of November 2022.

The EN.TE.R.PR.I.S.E. project, part of POR CreO FESR Toscana 2014/2020 – Action 1.1.5 – Sub-action A1 – R&D Calls 2020 “Research and development projects” (Call 1), consists of 5 project lines or sub-projects:

• Sub-Project 1: Research and Development of innovative solutions for the photochlorination of organic compounds;
• Sub-Project 2: New bio-based chlorinated products as a green alternative to Chloroparaffins: feedstock, applications, and comparative methods for characterization;
• Sub-Project 3: R&D for the industrial scale-up of the pilot plant for the production of super-pure food and pharmaceutical grade KCl;
• Sub-Project 4: R&D of a new plant for the reuse and reduction of water intake from the Cecina river aquifer in a circular economy perspective;
• Sub-Project 5: R&D of Industry 4.0 applications for data analysis and smart process control, for the digital transformation of information exchange between company departments.

Altair Chimica’s partners in this project include:

• X-Phase S.r.l., a startup created as an academic spin-off by some members of the Microelectronic System Design Laboratory of the University of Florence (MSDLAB), which has been operating since 2012 in the field of advanced electronic design, specialized in the development of ultrasound investigation tools in the field of non-destructive controls, biomedical applications, and sonar detections: will develop advanced high-power acoustic radiation solutions in both ultrasonic plant reactors;
• MTP S.r.l., a company with established experience in the production of tubes for every need, also aimed at the industrial sector: will be actively involved in testing the new compounds with greater biodegradability, providing initial feedback on the industrial use of green alternatives;
• Snap4 S.r.l., a startup founded in 2018 by a research team based at the Distributed Systems and Internet Technologies Laboratory (DISIT) of the Department of Information Engineering of the University of Florence, which offers solutions and services to facilitate the acquisition and management of data of any type and format in the industry 4.0 and smart city sectors, using big data analytics, artificial intelligence, and internet of things technologies: will develop new smart applications for data analysis and process control, which will be implemented based on digital transformation requests for Industry 4.0.

Scientific consultants include the Institute of Chemistry of Organic Compounds (ICCOM) of the National Research Council and the Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering (DICI) of the University of Pisa.

This project embodies several activities:

• Strategic corporate planning aimed at increasingly sustainable production, through the search for alternative feedstocks from renewable sources with greater biodegradability;
• The application of new technologies to existing and developing business processes, to make them more technically advanced and efficient;
• Research into the highest quality standards for products and the development of innovative analytical methods capable of overcoming current market limitations;
• Reducing the environmental impact of activities by implementing an internal circular economy of water resources, aiming to reduce natural groundwater intake for production activities;
• The introduction of smart applications for data analysis and process control, aimed at the digital transformation of information management between company departments in an Industry 4.0 perspective.
• Altair Chimica è alla costante ricerca di innovazioni tecnologiche e di processo, per rendere le proprie attività produttive sempre meno impattanti dal punto di vista ambientale, più automatizzate, con un conseguente abbassamento della pericolosità dell’attività, offrendo prodotti innovativi al mercato nazionale ed internazionale.

This effort is in line with the goal of continuing a path of strong internal growth in a sustainable manner over the past years, balancing increased production capacity with enhanced innovation and reduced environmental impact.

Since 2014, the company has embarked on a journey to grow its internal expertise, which has involved expanding its staff with highly skilled personnel and establishing ongoing collaborations with Research Entities (CNR) and Universities in its region (UNIPI and UNIFI), fostering technology transfer.

In this context, the new EN.TE.R.PR.I.S.E. project is positioned, which Altair Chimica expects to help consolidate its leading position in the national and international markets, also developing new business opportunities and increasing the productivity and sustainability of its production facilities.