Emanuele Innocente: Rotors, gas turbines, and the secret to getting ahead in applications engineering

Hailing from Turin, Italy, Emanuele Innocente is no stranger to innovative engineering. From facilities in Italy and research centers in Norway to enormous engineering project sites in the Middle East, Emanuele has traveled far and wide to share his expertise in gas turbines and rotor life extension.

In this article, Emanuele shares his background in engineering, his passion for supporting his customers by coming up with unique solutions, and why he sees a bright future for EthosEnergy and energy technology.

From Turin to TurboCare

In 2010, Emanuele earned his master’s degree in Turin, Italy, after finishing his thesis in the Norwegian city of Trondheim, Norway. Soon after, he was racing toward furthering his opportunities in mechanical engineering.

Back in his home city of Turin, Emanuele joined a Siemens Énergie-owned TurboCare facility, starting in the core engineering group.

“[The company] was very knowledgeable about gas turbines. They were the OEM for historical Fiat and Westinghouse engines. I was impressed by them. So I joined the company in 2010.”

Using his skills to maintain turbine blades for many different projects, his boss soon came to him with an interesting proposition – becoming their new Applications Engineer.

“The aim of an Applications Engineer is to create a link between the customers and the engineering, and to be closer to the commercial and sales department and support them very closely. The most important thing to understand, though, is what the customer needs and then develop a customized solution for them.”

After TurboCare became part of EthosEnergy when the joint venture was launched in 2014, Emanuele’s role in Turin went from strength to strength, and he was at the heart of the company’s rotor life extension program. The aim of the program is to save companies money by repairing or refurbishing current rotors instead of building brand-new ones – helping them invest with OpEx instead of CapEx while also reducing their environmental impact.

This led to a large awareness campaign, involving seminars in the Middle East, Far East and Europe– where Emanuele was able to showcase the company’s solutions to customers directly.

Putting customers first

Today, Emanuele’s role involves working closely with customers to understand their needs and goals, before supporting them with customized solutions.

“In this kind of sector, you need to gain the technical trust of your customer. Otherwise, you cannot proceed with the commercial project, so it's very important.”

Another important factor in his role is to always keep learning, and being prepared with the right answers to the customers’ questions.

“You need to challenge yourself and study a lot, because your customers could have different problems, not just the ones you are experienced with. It's a way of improving yourself. It doesn't mean you have to be the expert on everything, but you need to understand how to solve their problems, and be ready.”

How to provide value in the energy sector

The first step in any project is setting up an initial meeting to understand the customer’s needs, says Emanuele, often followed up with a more technical call. On occasion, customers want to visit the EthosEnergy workshop in Turin to scope out any important opportunities.

“I’m responsible for the technical part of the visit. So, when they come to our site, they want to see our capacity and capabilities.… So, we show them the engineering department with our tools and our people. This is our value-add,– the talented people that we have.”

In the energy sector, Emanuele continues, the EthosEnergy engineering team aims to show that they can not only find a solution – they can find a creative one that will provide the most value to the customer.

Energy of the future

When looking to the future of the energy industry and its impact on the environment, Emanuele remains hopeful. He went on to say that more opportunities to improve are likely to present themselves in the future, thanks to a variety of emerging technologies in different sectors.

“I'm very positive about the future, because it depends on us all. At EthosEnergy, you always feel like you’re part of a bigger plan to achieve a common goal.”

And when it comes to EthosEnergy, Emanuele is certain that a mix of old and new in the company is helping them to advance.

“Our Torino workshop was formed in 1925, so it's a very historical company. We have a solid background, but also young engineers that can bring fresh ideas.”