Meet the partners: RINA Consulting

REFRESH’s project coordinator RINA Consulting is one of Italy’s top engineering consultancies and part of the multinational group RINA.

With a global network of more than 5,300 talented professionals, RINA, headquartered in Genova, is committed to simplifying complexities with a focus on energy transition, ESG and digitalisation. In 2000, RINA inherited the know-how of one of the world’s first naval classification registries, the Italian Naval Registry, and turned it into a ‘business-to-society’ company, supporting customers in keeping up with changes and growing sustainably. RINA specialises in testing, inspection, certification, and engineering solutions across a wide range of markets, including Marine, Energy and Mobility, Real Estate and Infrastructure, Space and Defence, and Industry 4.0.

RINA is committed to simplifying complexities with a focus on energy transition, ESG and digitalisation. (Image @ RINA Photo Library.)

RINA collaborates with its clients to find innovative solutions to complex problems, leveraging its expertise to anticipate and tackle any challenges along the way. Its goal is the improvement of the quality of life and building sustainable values for future generations.

An experienced partner in EU-funded projects, RINA is currently participating in more than 100 projects on topics including circularity, renewable energy, biofuels, hydrogen, and smart buildings.

RINA’s role in REFRESH

RINA Consulting is the project coordinator for REFRESH, overseeing project delivery, quality control, partner interaction and conflict resolution. It is also responsible for the REFRESH Business Plan, developing the business model of the project, as well as leading the LCA activities, including the Circular by Design approach. It is also leading the activities around stakeholder mapping and exploitation tasks, developing the exploitation plan for the project results.

We spoke to DANIEL GRISENTI, RINA Consulting’s Junior Project Manager, Innovation for Power Generation and Hydrogen.

What is RINA’s expertise in renewable energy projects?

RINA’s services include project management, engineering, regulatory compliance, and market analysis. (Image @ RINA Photo Library.)

RINA Consulting has been involved in a wide range of activities related to renewable energy projects, including those funded by the EU. Some of our typical activities in EU-funded renewable energy projects include:

Project Management: RINA Consulting often assists in the management and coordination of EU-funded renewable energy projects, ensuring that they are executed efficiently and effectively;
Technical Advisory: RINA provides technical expertise and guidance in the planning, design, and implementation of renewable energy projects, ensuring compliance with EU regulations and standards;
Basic and Detailed Engineering: RINA provides technical expertise in process engineering, P&IDs and other process documentation development, permitting activities and grid interconnection activities;
Environmental and Regulatory Compliance: RINA helps clients navigate the complex regulatory landscape in the EU, ensuring that projects comply with environmental and permitting requirements;
Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Services: RINA offers expertise in optimising energy efficiency in renewable energy projects and promoting sustainable practices;
Risk Assessment: RINA conducts health and safety risk assessments to identify potential risks associated with renewable energy projects and develops strategies to mitigate them;
Market Analysis: RINA provides market analysis and forecasting to help clients understand market trends and opportunities for renewable energy projects in the EU.

The REFRESH project answers the Horizon Europe call ‘Demonstration of innovative materials, supply cycles, recycling technologies to increase the overall circularity of wind energy technology and to reduce the primary use of critical raw materials.’ What attracted RINA to this topic?

RINA Consulting has expertise in renewable energy, materials science, recycling technologies and circular economy concepts which made us well-suited to address the specific challenges outlined in the call.

On the other hand, the wind energy sector is growing rapidly and represents a significant market opportunity. For this reason, the possibility for development of knowledge and services in materials recycling and wind energy to also be exploited for future projects was an interesting opportunity. Furthermore, proposing innovative solutions in materials, supply chain optimisation and recycling can position a consulting firm to tap into this expanding market.

The wind energy sector represents a significant market opportunity. (Image @ RINA Photo Library.)

How did you build the project team?

We started from the development of the project concept, with the subsequent identification of the multi-disciplinary competences needed to realise it with respect to all the Horizon call requests. We then started contacting suitable partners, firstly from previous collaborations in other EU projects, and secondly expanding our network to other key partners that fulfilled the missing profiles we were searching for.

There are many projects working on recycling of wind turbine blades. What are the unique features of REFRESH?

The main unique selling points (USPs) of the REFRESH solutions are based on the very high content extraction of secondary raw materials, the high sustainability of recycled fibres, and the flexibility of recycling processes.

At the end of the project what are you hoping to have achieved?

The activities developed in the project will be implemented at different technology readiness levels (TRLs). In particular, the following solutions are expected to be developed within the project, with the corresponding final TRL: