The proposal for the Hafner Energy Park, which involves the construction of a large waste-to-energy plant in the Aussa Corno industrial area in San Giorgio di Nogaro (in the province of Udine), focuses not only on the plant engineering dimension of a large-scale intervention, but also on the technical, economic-financial and administrative complexity that characterizes public-private partnership operations. In projects of this type, the technical-economic feasibility project plays a central role in relating plant performance, investment sustainability, financial structure, risk allocation and authorization requirements.
Presented by Hafner Energy from Waste Srl, the initiative involves a total investment estimated at around one billion euros, of which over 700 million refer to plant and building works. The proposal, now subjected to evaluation by the recipients, is accompanied by a PFTE built through a multidisciplinary approach, which integrates technical, environmental, economic-financial and legal-administrative aspects and constitutes the basis for verifying the feasibility, sustainability of the operation and public interest.
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Dimensions and characteristics of the Energy Park
The proposal, prepared by Hafner Energy from Waste Srl, was sent on 17 July 2026 to CAFC SpA, A&T 2000 SpA, NET SpA and Isontina Ambiente Srl, public companies active in water services and in the integrated urban waste cycle. As mentioned, the project involves a total investment estimated at around one billion euros, supported by private capital as part of the proposed partnership scheme. The plant and construction works alone would represent a component exceeding 700 million euros.
Based on the data illustrated by the promoter, the Energy Park will be divided into four lines and will have a maximum treatment capacity of up to approximately 500,000 tonnes per year of residual urban waste, industrial waste, special non-hazardous waste and sludge, destined for energy recovery after the possibilities of prevention, reuse and recycling have been exhausted.
The expected electricity production is estimated at 640 GWh per year. The project also envisages the creation of approximately 180 direct jobs, mainly qualified, in addition to the employment effects linked to the construction phase and related industries.
The technological solutions envisaged
Here are the main technological solutions envisaged in the Hafner Energy Park project:
- Advanced combustion control: digital regulation and optimization systems, also using advanced algorithms, aimed at making the process more stable and efficient and containing the formation of fumes and emissions.
- Air recirculation and fume treatment: use of recirculation air and abatement systems compliant with the best available techniques, with performance to be verified as part of the authorization procedure and subsequent monitoring activities.
- Capture and liquefaction of CO₂: Forecast of a section dedicated to the capture of carbon dioxide, potentially destined for subsequent industrial uses.
- Recovery of waste and metals: treatment of heavy waste for the recovery of reusable metals and mineral fractions, with the aim of reducing the residual quantity to be sent to landfill.
- Energy recovery of non-recyclable waste: valorisation of the fractions which, after separate collection and recovery of material, are no longer recyclable.
- High temperature treatment of persistent substances: according to the design indications, the control of temperature and residence times would allow the treatment of persistent organic substances.
The actual performances, including those relating to PFAS, must then be documented and validated in the competent technical and authorization bodies.
Expected benefits and evaluation process
In the promoter’s estimates, the availability of regional plant capacity could help reduce dependence on landfills and plants located outside Friuli Venezia Giulia, limit exposure to future increases in disposal costs and make the cost of disposal more stable over time. Any possible effect on the waste tariff must be verified in light of the final structure of the project, the quantities actually delivered and the decisions of the competent bodies.
The proposal will now be subjected to the evaluations of the recipient subjects and, if the conditions are met, to the subsequent process envisaged by the public-private partnership regulations and environmental legislation. The construction of the plant remains subject to verification of public interest, technical-economic insights and the issuing of all required authorizations.
How the PFTE was built: the working group
Doctors Fulvio Degrassi, Gianpaolo Graberi, Valentina Graberi and Marco Carra of MINT Solutions, a network of companies and professionals with offices in Trieste, Udine, Pordenone and Monfalcone (Gorizia), operated for the economic-financial component and general coordination. The group oversaw the construction of the technical-economic feasibility plan, the setting of the structure of the financing sources, the analysis of the sustainability of the investment and the economic-financial articulation of the proposal over the entire concession period.
The architect intervened for the technical and environmental component. Giorgio Del Fabbro with the engineer. Cristina Ceccotti of Land Sistemi of Udine, with the task of coordinating and developing the contents relating to the plant configuration, treatment and recovery technologies, energy and environmental performance and the insertion of the plant in the territorial and industrial context of reference.
For the legal component, the lawyer provided assistance. Fabio Gallio of BTLaws of Padua and the lawyer. Giovanni Ferasin of Casa & Associati of Vicenza, delving into the discipline of the public-private partnership, the concession structure, the distribution of risks between the public entity and the private operator, the contents of the conventional scheme and the coordination with the applicable environmental and authorization regulations.
The joint work made it possible to prepare an organic proposal, in which the technological choices were linked to the relative economic sustainability, the bankability of the investment, the correct allocation of risks and the protection of the public interest. The documentation has been structured to allow the recipients to evaluate in a unified manner the feasibility of the intervention, the expected benefits, the concessionaire’s commitments and the safeguards envisaged during the construction and subsequent management of the plant.
«The preparation of a public-private partnership proposal of this size necessarily requires an interdisciplinary approach. The value of the work carried out lies in having integrated technical design, economic-financial sustainability, legal discipline, risk allocation and verifiability of performance from the outset. The PFTE does not only represent the description of a plant, but the technical and economic basis on which the administration will be able to evaluate the public interest and the concrete sustainability of the operation» declared Fulvio Degrassi.
For more information
hafnerwastetoenergy.com
