The Energy sector is rapidly expanding at the moment, and the European Union has defined finding solutions for the development of new Net-Zero energy production systems as strategic.
Thanks to its extensive experience in this sector, F.lli Poli is proud to offer its expertise to support companies in developing components for the energy sector.

Materials

Products and machinery for the Energy sector must meet resistance and durability requirements, even in hostile environments, which are much stricter than in other sectors.
There are some metallic materials that meet this type of needs particularly well; thanks to its technology, F.lli Poli can handle these very competently.

In these fields, the main materials used are stainless steel and special alloys. Such materials are perfect for applications where the manufactured products come into contact with oxidizing agents, thus minimizing the risk of corrosion of the components.
For those applications where operating temperatures can be high (for instance, a SOFC fuel cell operates continuously at a temperature of 800°C while MCFCs – Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells – operate at 650°C), we have developed specific solutions that allow us to guarantee excellent results with low costs, without compromising on the safety of the final product.
However, together with fuel cells, there are also some cells that operate in a particularly aggressive environment.
In addition to the covering components, the connectors covering the primary ceramic cells (in the case of SOFC cells) also need to have specific mechanical features in order to operate properly. Stainless steel is the most suitable material also for these applications.

The use of ad hoc materials (with special alloys) allows to minimize production costs while maintaining very high-quality standards, thus ensuring the proper functioning of the components over a long time (for decades).
This requirement is crucial for energy industry products as they are often installed in hard-to-reach areas and therefore need to be maintenance-free.
We have also been exploring other lightweight materials that are interesting for this structure.

In particular, we have carried out cold bending and forming tests of titanium and magnesium in sheets.
For titanium, the tests were carried out in antagonism with stainless steel for applications where lightweight was particularly required given the same mechanical characteristics, but also for applications where the product needed to be used in particularly chemically aggressive environments.
For magnesium (a magnesium alloy) the tests were carried out in antagonism with aluminium for applications where a lighter weight was, given the same mechanical characteristics, an important discriminating factor (with excellent results considering magnesium weighs one third less than aluminium).

Current construction processes

The shape of the components that can be made of stainless steel is strongly linked to the type of processes used to manufacture the component.
In particular, it is extremely complex to create three-dimensional shapes without assembling simpler components – often bent by means of a press brake – which are then welded together.

In the energy sector, and particularly in those applications where temperature or high corrosion are important factors affecting the lifespan of the system, welding processes can considerably impact the lifespan of the product.
Welding is a critical process, and its price cannot be reduced (it depends on the welding time, which does not decrease as you increase the number of pieces manufactured) and it is a process that requires special care. For this reason, considerable and uneconomic post-welding spot checks are often carried out but, despite these, it would be impossible to guarantee all items are defect-free (unless 100% of the items were checked).

The issue with welding, however, is not only what happens during the process itself; there are critical issues that might arise over time due to the welding-induced structural changes in the material.
As a matter of fact, there is a lot of literature about welding-induced issues with metal components (particularly with stainless steel) in the Heat Affected Zone. Some major structural changes (due to chromium migration or to a difference on the welding material) make the product attackable by uncontrollable oxidation or cracks over time.
Only subsequent specific treatments can somehow minimize these critical issues.
In the energy sector, it is therefore important to manage those issues by taking further steps (such as pickling and passivation).
This type of treatments can make the process both expensive and time-consuming in terms of lead time.

Alternative Technologies

Deep-drawing forming is particularly suitable for meeting the needs of this sector. This technology, perfectly mastered by F.lli Poli, allows to manufacture formed components with substantial cost savings.

That is even more advantageous when producing large numbers, as economies of scale are achieved with very high quality of production.
The particular care F.lli Poli has developed in cold metal drawing enables to avoid welding while manufacturing components.
The finished product will be more reliable both at the time of production and, even most importantly, while being used in the long run.

F.lli Poli provides unique support for the optimization of production costs thanks to its 3D cutting technology.
This technology allows us to provide our clients with two specific advantages:

• We are effectively able to halve the investment costs for the production of deep drawing dies by cutting the deep-drawn product, with complex geometry, thanks to the opportunities provided by 3D Laser.
• When several versions of the same product are needed, we can easily make some production batches with minor modifications to the openings and to the holes. This flexibility allows our clients to create customized products without having to significantly invest in dies.