Business Continuity at AMAG
Commissioning the new transformer station and expanding rainwater infiltration systems to improve supply security and ensure uninterrupted production processes at the Ranshofen site.
The manufacturing of rolled and cast aluminium products should be kept free from interruptions and as safe as possible at all times. AMAG continuously evaluates the measures required to achieve this. In addition to timely delivery, these evaluations also focus on employee safety and preventing damage to our production facilities. In the casting plant, where aluminium is processed in a liquid state, there are particularly strict requirements regarding uninterrupted energy supplies.
The main energy carriers used by AMAG are natural gas and electricity. Electricity is needed to control production systems, which makes an uninterrupted power supply essential for safe operation of all systems. There is a very high level of electrical supply security in Austria. The Austrian Power Grid (APG) is responsible for constructing and operating the Austrian transmission grid with as little disruption as possible.
In AluReport 02/2024, we reported on work undertaken by the APG to construct a new transformer station directly adjacent to the AMAG site (Figure 1). The aim was to replace the existing 110 kV switchgear, which dated back to the era when AMAG was founded and was responsible for all electricity supplies to the site. A new version would ensure the site’s long-term viability. The Austrian Power Grid has now completed the new transformer station as planned and right on schedule. In the final phase of the project, AMAG’s four 110/20 kV transformers were relocated from the old station to the new one. The site’s power supply remained entirely undisrupted during this phase thanks to the transformer dismantling, transport, erection and recommissioning measures planned in detail by the AMAG-APG project team. From a production perspective, we can confirm that construction of the new transformer station did not negatively impact the power supply at any time – and that the new supply infrastructure will serve AMAG long into the future.
The teamwork between APG and AMAG will continue through ongoing operation of the transformer station. Employees responsible for day-to-day electrical system operation work closely together and have also prepared plans for joint response to malfunctions and emergencies. In the future, AMAG’s internal fire service will not only be responsible for the transformer station on site but also for two additional APG transformer stations in the Braunau district. To this end, APG has provided BTF with a new water mist turbine device (Figure 2), complete with transport trailer, which is primarily designed for use in fighting fires in large-scale transformers. Following training and exercises on the use of the new firefighting equipment, the company’s fire service is now up to date with the new technology. It will be notified immediately by APG in an emergency. This specialist equipment, combined with the expertise of our company firefighters, represent the best possible protection for power supply infrastructure – not just for AMAG, but for the entire region.
AMAG is also well prepared to cope with a range of other serious events to ensure that its production activities can continue safely and uninterrupted. The Ranshofen site is already well equipped to deal with heavy rainfall events resulting from climate change (see AluReport 03/2024). The site’s infiltration systems operate flawlessly, ensuring that the vast majority of the premises can be drained swiftly and effectively. Plans are currently being drawn up to add a rainwater infiltration system and corresponding relief channel (Figure 3) for a small area of the site where the soil is heavily sealed and existing draining systems have proven insufficient. A new solution is to be introduced this year for older buildings that occasionally experience problems with insufficient roof drainage during heavy rainfall.This will increase the drainage capacity and channel rainwater into a retention reservoir, which will throttle the water’s discharge into the sewer system to protect against overloads during heavy rain.
In addition to protecting the building against water ingress, it will also relieve the load on the sewer system and, as a result, lessen the burden on the receiving water course during precipitation peaks.
