Cast iron pipes were the basic stock when it came to the installation of urban drinking water supplies 150 years ago. With increasing requirements from users for efficiency and simultaneously increasing chemical and mechanical loads, an innovative foundry industry responded with some sophisticated solutions.

The Devoll hydropower project in Albania: Statkraft AS has built two hydropower stations on the River Devoll, some 70 km to the South-East of the Albanian capital of Tirana: Banjë and Moglicë. The two together will have a capacity of 256 MW and an annual production of around 729 GWh.

After a little more than a year of construction time, in September 2019 the new hydropower station in Finhaut, Switzerland, was able to be put into operation. However, achieving the Finhaut microgeneration unit took ten years overall: from project planning in 2008 until the start of construction work in summer 2018.

Positive locking and flexible thrust-resistant systems have extended the range of application of ductile cast iron systems and shown that they can withstand all loads produced by internal and external forces. In the construction and during the operation of pipelines with restrained joints in tunnels and under bridges, when used with the application of trenchless installation techniques …

The main focus of the so called Swiss Energy Strategy 2050 lies in the use of local, renewable energy sources. Their most important aims are a sustainable guarantee of energy supply, consistent development of existing energy efficiency potentials, reduction of CO2 emissions and full utilisation of existing potentials of new renewable energy sources.