Altair Chemical awarded at Ecomondo 2024 as one of the Top 10 Italian Companies for Circular Economy

Altair Chemical, the chlor-alkali division of Esseco Industrial, was recognized as one of the Top 10 Italian companies in the Circular Economy category at the Sustainable Development Award during Ecomondo 2024. The recognition was given for the innovative “Ferric Chloride” project—acknowledging Altair’s commitment to sustainability and innovation through an eco-friendly, high-efficiency production system that positions the company at the forefront of water treatment and environmental impact reduction.

Developed at the Saline di Volterra (PI) facility, the “Ferric Chloride” project uses spent hydrochloric acid—a by-product of steel pickling—as a secondary raw material to produce high-quality ferric and ferrous chloride. The innovative process, designed in collaboration with the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Pisa, is part of a circular partnership with a steel mill located just 80 km from Saline. Altair Chemical supplies this partner with hydrochloric acid and, in a fully circular and continuous production cycle, reuses the steel plant’s waste residues—creating a short, local, and sustainable supply chain.

Using spent acid allows for up to a 25% reduction in the purchase of ferrous raw materials, while also significantly cutting down transport across the country and associated emissions. What starts as steel industry waste is transformed into a valuable industrial by-product: ferric chloride with high purity, suitable not only for drinking water purification (compliant with UNI EN 888:2023) but also for wastewater treatment, offering a truly effective environmental solution.

“We are proud of this recognition,” said Roberto Vagheggi, General Manager of Esseco Industrial and CEO of Altair Chemical. “We strongly believe in innovation and consider collaboration with research institutions and universities to be essential. We have long embarked on a path of tangible choices aimed at reducing the environmental impact of our production. We promote innovative technological and plant solutions—especially from a circular economy perspective—and,” Vagheggi concluded, “we invest in renewables, which now allow us to use over 55% CO₂-free electricity across our Italian plants.”

With an average annual turnover of €300 million, nearly 200 employees, and two production sites in Italy—one in Tuscany and one in Pieve Vergonte (VB), Piedmont—Altair Chemical is the chlor-alkali division of Esseco Industrial, the industrial branch of Esseco Group, a family-owned Italian company that has been providing products and services to the chemical and wine industries for over a century. Active in 18 countries, the group employs around 1,300 people and has an average annual turnover of €700 million, with the Tuscan facility representing one of its most important industrial sites.