The energy of the future: for the first time, Enel Green Power and the Federico II University in Naples in Italy are using 3D printing to build concrete structures in a seismic zone

The official term is additive manufacturing, but it’s better known as 3D printing. This is a layered manufacturing process – literally adding one layer on top of another – by which it is now possible to construct any kind of object, including an entire building, from a model conceived and designed on a computer. And that is precisely what’s happened in the case of the building that was assembled at the Montalto di Castro power plant. It houses a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in a series of containers and this system is designed to store the surplus electricity produced by the power plant in the upper Lazio region, on the border with Tuscany. The building itself, at about 15 square meters, is quite small. There are two foundation elements supporting electrical equipment, small-scale artifacts that nonetheless boast several important records. It’s the first in Italy of a non-temporary nature; the first dedicated to energy production in Italy (and among the first in the world); the first for which the necessary authorization was acquired from the Civil Engineering Department (the organization that oversees construction work in seismic zones); and the first to combine conventional concrete prefabrication techniques (for the building, the roof was made separately, with a traditional system, as were the foundations) and 3D printing technology. The meticulous work of the robot and the technicians One glance is enough to realize that this building is completely different from those surrounding it. Indeed, if you look at the walls of the "technical room at the electrical substation's switchboard office" and the "foundations of the current-measuring transformer and surge arrester" (these are the official names), you will notice lots of horizontal grooves: these are the layers of concrete deposited on top of each other. The words "Enel Green Power" emerge on the three exposed walls of the building, as in a bas-relief. In order to understand how these structures were built, we need to move a few hundred kilometers south, to the Volla industrial area, near Naples. Here, thanks to the collaboration with the Federico II University in Naples and the Etesias spin-off (which was set up at the university), the two foundations were made and installed in February, while the walls were built in April and May. They were subsequently assembled, rather like huge Lego blocks, by a team of builders in Montalto. A robotic arm fabricated 11 walls and 10 other components (the disposable formwork for the top curbs of the walls) through a single filament to produce a piece of 3D work that was several kilometers in length. A digital model was used, as was a plan that had been designed in advance, thanks to specialized software. The production procedure is simple and watching it is almost hypnotic. The robotic arm, following a predetermined path, enables the continuous pouring of the "i.tech 3D" cement material produced by Heidelberg Materials (the brand that has taken over the legacy of Italcementi in Italy), and specially developed for concrete 3D printing applications. The process is almost completely automated, requiring the team of technicians only to check the quality of the mixed and pumped material and to control the printing parameters, such as the extrusion speed of the filament or the geometry of each individual block. In order to get an idea of how layered production works in practice, here are some numbers: the robot deposited a filament of about 2.5 kilometers of material, layer by layer, to make a wall block about 3 meters high and 1.5 meters wide; roughly the same length was deposited for each log-shaped plinth, with a plan measuring 1.40 by 1.40 meters and about one meter in height. "It looks more like a tree root than a man-made work with advanced, modern numerical calculation models," says Alessandro Micchia, global head of Enel Green Power's Civil and Mechanical Design Unit. Once finished, each block was left to harden and dry. Then, in the end, all of the molded pieces that make up the building – except the roof, which was made later on site – along with the electrical equipment foundations, were transported to Montalto for installation and assembly. Two years of work and many challenges Now, it is, however, necessary to take a step back in time. That’s because this project is the result of an intense collaboration that began two years ago between Enel Green Power Engineering and the Federico II University in Naples. It involved the development of a revolutionary theory for the structural calculation of the elements to be made with 3D printing. It was first tested in the laboratory, then subjected to numerical simulations and further tested on site. The result was then submitted to the Civil Engineering Department for approval and shared with the Superior Council of Public Works and, after intensive discussions involving the two institutions and the EGP team, the go-ahead was given on January 11. "This historic, and technically extraordinary, event is the result of two years of study and hard work," says Vittorio Capozzi. He’s Enel Green Power’s architectural and structural designer for the additive manufacturing work at Montalto di Castro, as well as the technical and scientific manager of the 3D printing research project for Enel. "To have designed with an innovative structural calculation theory and then obtained, through a complex public authorization process, the first seismic authorization for the construction of these unique and futuristic works, which will appear in future university engineering and architecture textbooks, gives an idea of the exceptional nature of the result achieved by the project team." The project was not without its challenges, as Costantino Menna, associate professor of Construction Technology at the Federico II University in Naples, explains, "especially in the control of the printing process and the determination of the physical and mechanical properties of the materials used. One of the main difficulties was the ability to produce, both consistently and continuously, pieces that were up to three meters in height, as was the case with the building’s walls. This required precise control of the printing process in order to ensure stability when the concrete was soft and, at the same time, structural integrity when it hardened." "It’s a technique that opens up great possibilities, in terms of easily handling complex forms," adds Domenico Asprone, professor of Construction Technology at the Federico II University in Naples, "which are difficult to achieve with conventional techniques; and this possibility enables the unique functional performance of the artifacts." All the advantages of 3D construction The buildings at Montalto aren’t only a case of great teamwork, strong skills and passion, and research excellence: they are also the forerunner of a new way of building, both for our Group and for the energy sector and industry in general. Printable concrete is currently more expensive than the traditional variety, but the construction process is a lot faster: we’re talking about time savings of at least 50%. And in the energy market, and particularly in the renewable energy market, being fast means being more competitive. First of all, you eliminate the use of formwork (the temporary structure used in conventional techniques to contain the concrete until it solidifies), and the time it takes for the cementitious material used to harden is less than that for traditional concrete. Then, you can even dispense with transportation, as is the case with regular precast, if you 3D print directly on site. This system also requires less material (up to about 50%) because 3D printing optimizes concrete distribution, compared to traditional technologies (which entail pouring liquid concrete into molds) and it reduces waste. By decreasing the amount of material, it also has a lower environmental impact in terms of the CO2 produced. This is significant because concrete is believed to be responsible for between 4 and 8% of the global emissions of carbon dioxide, the number one greenhouse gas. If the main purpose of renewable energy is to reduce these emissions, then the infrastructure that’s used in producing it must have the least possible environmental impact. The other advantages of this type of construction technology relate to its adaptability in terms of specific requirements and better mechanical performance. 3D printing, "thanks to the high degree of digitalization, also leads to greater safety on site, while the construction of buildings with complex shapes and customized details that would be difficult or impossible to achieve with traditional methods," adds Martina Palomba, an engineer in the 3D Printing research group at Heidelberg Materials. Forthcoming developments Meanwhile, Enel has also obtained a grant from the ARTES4.0 Competence Center through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) for the industrialization of the construction of structural elements with 3D printing of concrete, so-called 3DCP (3D Concrete Printing). The 12-month project, known as OM3GA (ecOManufactured 3d printinG foundAtions), is being carried out in collaboration with WASP, Italy's leading manufacturer of 3D printing machines; Materias, a company specializing in advanced materials and technologies; and the Sustainability Management Lab at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (University) in Pisa. The goal is to make several foundations for substation equipment, 3D-printed with a temporary mobile factory: this could be described as the natural sequel to Montalto's success. The civil works in Montalto di Castro not only mark a milestone for our Group, but they can truly be considered the beginning of a new era in industrial construction and sustainable energy. Thanks to 3D printing, and the development of increasingly green printable materials (e.g., from recycled materials), we can build more quickly, efficiently and safely, while being environmentally friendly. This project is therefore a testament to the Enel Group's capacity for innovation and vision, and its ability to promote a more sustainable and technologically advanced future.

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The energy of the future: for the first time, Enel Green Power and the Federico II University in Naples in Italy are using 3D printing to build concrete structures in a seismic zone

The energy of the future: for the first time, Enel Green Power and the Federico II University in Naples in Italy are using 3D printing to build concrete structures in a seismic zone

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