Every seven years and from this year more frequently, Enel Distribuzione withdraws the old generation meters from the market to replace them with more effective Smart Meters with a view to a sustainable circular economy.
What to do with the disused meters? The noblest materials, such as aluminium and copper, are sold thanks to their important intrinsic value, while the plastic components are selected, sieved, mixed and processed together with other components. This will allow the recovery of approx. 19 thousand tonnes of plastic material in total by end of 2026
Our PolHI® – now a registered brand – is made from polycarbonate with glass fibre additives and has been chosen by Enel Distribuzione as the material to produce its new generation of Green Open Meters.
The new Enel Distributions meters will include no more than 20% new plastic and have been built with an engineering design that will make it easier and easier to recover the components and to recycle them. After all, the life of plastic is almost infinite: it is selected, ground and revamped with new virgin material and chemical additives.
Ochi, together with the raw material and compounding Suppliers, has been investing resources and human capital for at least three and a half years. The R&D team of Ochi and the raw material Supplier, including technicians who have been working with plastics for 40 years, has developed the chemical formula such that PolHI® proves to be a high-quality polymer capable of competing, if not improving on, the virgin material. The approval of the Meter was also subject to passing tests (crash tests, external discoloration tests) in Italian, but also European and international laboratories. This phase guarantees the high quality of the material. One of the biggest challenges for recycled plastic is to produce it industrially, ensuring its stability and homogeneity once moulding is complete. The chemical formula is not naturally stable as in the case of virgin plastic, it must be constantly adapted to the batch of raw material available because the range of differences upwards or downwards is very narrow in this segment.
The new generation of Green Open Meters and therefore the material, have been approved by the Dutch certified body NMI, which give us the opportunity to have access to certain benefits in terms of circular economy.
The PolHI® PC is also:
- TUV certified;
- RoHS compliant;
- REACH compliant;
(manufactured in a REACH compliant plant based on the candidate list for authorization updated on 08/07/2021).
Polycarbonate PolHI® PC is homologated by ENEL, ENEL X and recently by Metersit and Kaifa for the following applications:
- ENEL Distribuzione: Green open meters
- ENEL X: Electrical charging stations (for private, public and corporate use)
- METERSIT: Gas smart meters
- KAIFA: Electrical smart meters
