Acqua Minerale San Benedetto is one of the world's top producers of alcohol-free beverages. Producing mineral water is a continuous production process, so they have a large demand for electrical, thermal and cooling energy. The business’ aim was therefore to improve efficiency and reduce the energy costs of their production plant based in Scorzé, Venice. But they had a unique challenge with a lack of space at the site, and the close proximity of the site to Scorzé’s residential area.

We first identified a trigeneration power plant as the ideal solution for San Benedetto’s Scorzé production site. But the solution needed to be flexible in order to meet the specific challenges of the space. We designed a project with special architectural features, organising the trigeneration plant vertically rather than horizontally, across the site’s 3 floors. To face the other main challenge of noise levels, we incorporated a reinforced concrete and soundproofed building into the design.

We planned and built the innovative trigeneration plant with three separate natural gas engines, producing 6 MWt of hot water, 6 tons per hour of steam and 13.2 MWe of electricity. We financed and operate the plant itself, covering almost all the energy needs of San Benedetto’s production, and allowing for significant cost savings.