The second phase of the Revigrés Photovoltaic Plant for Self-Consumption was inaugurated this Tuesday, April 12, in the presence of the Minister for the Environment and Climate Action, Duarte Cordeiro, the Mayor of Águeda, Jorge Almeida, the President of APICER, José Pratas, and Pedro Alves, Commercial Director of Helexia, the company responsible for the development and implementation of this photovoltaic park.
Victor Ribeiro, CEO of Revigrés, said : "The second phase of the installation of Revigrés' Self-Consumption Photovoltaic Plant, in partnership with Helexia, has allowed us to increase our production of clean energy from 1.2GWh/year to around 4GWh/year. With this commitment, nearly 20% of the energy consumed in our plants comes from renewable sources, avoiding the emission of 1,826 tons of CO2 per year. This is another important milestone in an already broad sustainability policy, which allows us to say with conviction that our ceramics are truly green."
Helexia was the partner company responsible for designing, realizing and implementing this new phase of the photovoltaic plant, enabling Revigrés to double its clean energy production capacity. In operation are 7,328 photovoltaic panels and a power output of 2.9MWp, resulting in a solar energy production of 4 GWh/year. The new photovoltaic park will also reduce CO2 emissions by 1,826 tons/year, which corresponds to the planting of around 47,000 trees.
"The industrial sector in Portugal has enormous potential to improve competitiveness through the decarbonization of energy generation, which can progressively be local and renewable due to the evolution of technology and regulation.
In 2021, the ceramics industry had a self-consumption of electricity of less than 0.9%, according to official data, when the global potential is around 13%, according to a study published by Helexia. Achieving self-consumption of close to 20% allows Revigrés to benefit from competitive electricity costs and increase its energy independence in the long term," commented Pedro Antão Alves, Sales Director at Helexia.
Decarbonizing the industry for sustainability
Helexia is committed to helping companies on their decarbonization roadmaps, thus contributing to a low-carbon economy. On this path, it has 25MWp in operation, producing 60 GWh/year of clean energy, which corresponds to 27% of customers' energy needs.
Helexia's work with clients has already prevented the emission of 28,471 tons of CO2/year, the equivalent of planting 730,000 trees. In terms of energy costs, partnerships with Helexia have enabled customers to make annual savings of more than €2 million.
Helexia currently has 52MWp under construction and several energy efficiency and electric mobility projects that reinforce its commitment to decarbonization.
Revigrés path to sustainability
In a highly challenging context for companies in social and economic terms, Revigrés plans a future based on a strategy of process optimization and ambitious business goals, supported by technological innovation and distinctive ceramic solutions, with a focus on sustainability.
Highlight for the co-promotion of two projects integrated in the Mobilizing Agendas and Green Agendas for Business Innovation of the PRR - Recovery and Resilience Plan, aiming at meeting the Carbon Neutrality targets through 1) new technologies, 2) more efficient forms of energy, and 3) development of innovative products, resulting from more sustainable and eco-efficient processes.
Data on the evolution of UPAC Revigrés
| Project | 1st Phase UPAC | 2nd Phase UPAC | TOTAL |
| Date | May 2019 | November 2022 | |
| Panels | 3 628 | 3 700 | 7 328 |
| Power - MWp | 0,9 | 2 | 2,9 |
| Solar Energy Production/year GWh | 1,2 | 2,7 | 3,9 |
| % of total consumption | 6.1% | 12.9% | 19.0% |
| Reduction in CO2 emissions/ton/year | 526 | 1 300 | 1 826 |
ABOUT REVIGRÉS
Revigrés is a company specializing in the production of ceramic tiles and flooring that has been covering the world with stories, inspiration and art for over 45 years.
With a presence in more than 50 countries, it maintains a close partnership and collaboration with professionals in the national and international market, and is often selected for high-impact projects.
Highlights include Harrods in London and the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, for which he has exclusively developed colors from the Cromática Collection, one of the most complete porcelain stoneware collections in the world.
"Our ceramics are green"
Reducing environmental impact is a global concern which, at Revigrés, is embodied in a structured Environmental Policy, supported by investment in innovation and the adoption of eco-efficient behavior.
Revigrés' collections of porcelain stoneware tiles and flooring are certified with an Environmental Product Declaration (type III) - according to ISO 14025 and EN 15804 - contributing to obtaining environmental certifications for buildings and, consequently, to the sustainability of construction.
Revigrés is also the only Portuguese company in the ceramics sector with quadruple certification for its integrated management systems in the following areas: Quality; Environment; Social Responsibility; Research, Development and Innovation.
