Green hydrogen pushes Umbrian co-op into global tableware market
A ceramic oven powered by a mixture of gas and green hydrogen, self-produced by an electrolyzer that works thanks to solar energy. This is a unique industrial project at a national level, which is taking shape in the heart of Umbria through the challenge launched by the cooperative Ceramiche Noi , a workers buyout of Città di Castello (Perugia) associated with Legacoop Umbria. This plant arrives at a dramatic moment at a global level, due to the conflicts in the Middle East that could increasingly push the cost of fuels to increase. The Umbrian cooperative is ready to search for alternative, eco-friendly and above all less expensive and impactful energy sources on the balance sheets and operation of highly energy-intensive companies. Less than a year ago, the company purchased an old disused warehouse: today it has become a modern plant that combines energy efficiency, sustainability and technological innovation, marking a record in the tableware sector.
"First of all, we must thank Legacoop Umbria, which helped us weave all the threads of this ambitious project," emphasizes Marco Brozzi , president of Ceramiche Noi. "It supported us in building the path and provided us with skills and relationships to find the right partners."
The project is the result of a synergy between two cooperatives, Ceramiche Noi and Gbm , which installed the photovoltaic system. Financial support came from Banca Etica and Cfi , while the company Sacofgas (also from Città di Castello) collaborated in the construction of the hydrogen system. The idea was born in 2022, in the midst of the energy crisis. "We reacted by temporarily returning to LPG and adapting the oven for dual LPG-methane fueling," explains Brozzi. "Then, thanks to Sacofgas, we started producing hydrogen through electrolysis. After an initial experimental phase, today we use a machine capable of producing up to 12 m³/h of hydrogen, operating at 80% of capacity."
From an industrial point of view, the plant is unique in Italy in the tableware ceramics sector. In a market that is increasingly sensitive to sustainability (particularly those of Canada and the United States , the main outlet markets for the cooperative), this green qualification of the product offers a competitive advantage that opens up a space for other segments and markets. The electrolyzer is powered by a photovoltaic system built by Gbm, whose installed power is 150KW. Both Ceramiche Noi and Gbm are examples of workers buyouts : companies recovered by employees who have safeguarded jobs and skills in the area .
Today, the new furnace has three power modes: methane, LPG or gas mixed with hydrogen. This allows a reduction in gas consumption of up to 10%, with an improvement in combustion quality thanks to the higher calorific value of the mixture. The heart of the project is its closed and sustainable supply chain: the hydrogen is produced on site, used immediately, without storage or transport, thus reducing environmental and economic costs. All this is part of a broader industrial redevelopment project of the modern plant, with a furnace also equipped with a heat recovery system.
"We have believed in this project from the beginning because it represents a concrete example of how cooperation can respond to environmental and market challenges", Simone Gamberini , president of Legacoop, and Danilo Valenti , president of Legacoop Umbria, jointly declare in a note. "Our mission is to innovate, create employment and generate value in the territories. Here we are faced with a reality that a few years ago was at risk of closing: today it is growing, innovating and creating jobs".
The project has also found the support of the Tifernate community from the very beginning, always close to the cooperative in times of challenge. "It is a concrete dream that comes true and rewards the extraordinary determination and passion of all the protagonists of the cooperative and the workers, who for some years have been an international model of innovative entrepreneurial management in the wake of tradition through cutting-edge eco-compatible projects like the one that is being inaugurated today", underlined the mayor of Città di Castello, Luca Secondi , during the official presentation.
Previewed in Madrid at the European event on workers buyouts , the plant is now active 24 hours a day, ready to mark a new path for Italian manufacturing. "It's not just innovation, it's a strategic, economic, environmental and social choice," Lorenzo Giornelli , marketing manager of Ceramiche Noi, is keen to point out. "A challenge that we decided to face by looking to the future."
The cooperative has also joined Cer Perugia Green Energy for free and, as a company benefit, will also have family sharing for each member on the weekend.
The workers of the old owner had been informed of the relocation to Armenia in August 2019. After the initial moments of despair, faced with the possibility of losing their jobs, they decided to invest in their future and in the prospect of the territory. They joined together in a cooperative and founded Ceramica Noi, investing 180 thousand euros, purchasing the machinery used by the old owner and renting the warehouse. “All for one, a dream for all”, says the slogan printed on the skin that now takes on greater meaning, a sign of those who have made it. In this way they have won back their old customers, 90 percent of whom are located in the United States, managing not to stop production and, indeed, starting again with momentum. The experience of Ceramica Noi indicates a path that can be taken by many other companies in crisis that, instead of ceasing activity, can be saved by the workers in cooperative form.
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