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The relaunch plan for the primary aluminum factory is still going slowly and workers employed at Sider Alloys in Portovesme are facing redundancy payments. From Monday, some of the employees of the metallurgical company (and its subsidiary), who work in the metallurgical complex taken over by Alcoa eight years ago, will receive ordinary social safety net benefits for 13 weeks.
An announced danger
A fact that does not come as a bolt from the blue given that the trade union organizations have been asking for Government intervention for some time. «The situation is now unsustainable and we will start with the mobilization from Monday – announces Roberto Forresu, regional secretary of Fiom -, the relaunch project which should have put the plants back into operation is still incomplete and we cannot go any further». The foundry is currently working but, according to the metalworkers’ secretary, the most important part is missing. «It concerns the electrolytic, the reconstruction must be completed and therefore the start-up of the electrolytic cells, where the primary is produced, which has always been the real strength of this plant in terms of production and quality».
Immediately the meeting at Mimit
The unions also made a request for an urgent meeting at Mimit, also in light of the fact that “the State participates in the company through Invitalia with a 20% share”. The requests that the unions will repeat to the Government representatives concern precisely the state of the art of the project which, with a public-private investment of over 140 million euros, had as its objective the relaunch of the smelter capable, until the shutdown in 2012 , to produce 150 thousand tons of primary aluminum for ingots and billets. «We were told that part of the revamping is going slowly because the containers with the necessary pieces to move forward with the interventions have not yet arrived – adds Forresu – at this point it is necessary for the discussion to take place at a higher level».
Other issues to untie
The issue relating to further investments linked to Sace guarantees also needs to be resolved. “We will also ask the Government for clarification regarding these resources – he adds – and at what stage the programs linked to the use of this money are at”. What further worried unions and workers who saw the restart of the metallurgical plants as an opportunity for what had been defined as “the new season of aluminum made in Italy” was precisely the opening of the ordinary CIG.
The mobilization
Hence the decision to relaunch the mobilization starting next week. «It is clear that we will not remain inert in the face of this situation. On Monday we will decide what to do – concludes the secretary of the metalworkers – we certainly cannot continue to wait without a solution being found, and without all the actors involved being called to assume responsibility. We expect answers from the Government on the future of this factory with or without this company and concrete actions.”
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Sider Alloys, slow relaunch: mobilization against the CIG from Monday
“There is no other option for the survival of starving humanity.”
[토요기획] ‘Hot potato’ cultured meat amid food crisis
Interview with ‘cultured meat investment expert’ Isabelle Desitre, CEO of ID Capital
A market with great potential, now is the right time to invest… Synergy with traditional livestock farming
Korean cultured meat companies growing rapidly
“This is the ‘opportunity of the century’ for investing in cultured meat startups. “Because there is no other option for starving humanity to continue to survive (in the future) without destroying the Earth.”
Isabelle Desitre (CEO, photo), CEO of ID Capital, a food tech investment company in Singapore, said this about the current investment situation in cultured meat startups in a recent email interview.
As the venture investment market has cooled since last year, investment in cultured meat startups has also slowed down. According to the Korea Biotechnology Association, global investment in cultured meat companies continued to rise to $1.82 billion (approximately KRW 2.52 trillion) in 2021 and $1.01 billion in the first half of 2022 (January to June), but fell in the second half (January to June). From July to December), investment began to decline little by little.
Regarding the current situation, CEO De Citre said, “I think now is the right time to invest rather than when everyone else is investing.” He added, “Some investors think cultured meat technology is in the very distant future, but we believe that cultured meat technology is in the early future.” “I think it has the potential to have a significant impact.”
Founded in 2014, ID Capital invests in a variety of food tech companies, including alternative proteins, including cultured meat, and smart agricultural technology. In 2016, it launched ‘Future Food Asia (FFA)’, an IR pitching competition where food tech startups in the Asia-Pacific region gathered together to introduce the technologies they are developing. The winning company in the pitching contest will receive a prize of $100,000 (about 140 million won).
This year, Simple Planet, a domestic cultured meat development company, advanced to the finals. CEO De Citre said, “We have met with Korean food tech entrepreneurs over the past eight years and have been very impressed by the rapid development of the ecosystem. We believe we can become a key country in the cultured meat value chain.”
At this year’s FFA, which will be held for two days starting on the 15th of this month, various discussions will be held under the major theme of ‘Nutrition and Inclusion’. One of them is ‘symbiosis’ with traditional agriculture and livestock farming. CEO De Citre said, “There is clearly a backlash from the livestock industry against cultured meat. Some believe that cultured meat threatens the livestock industry, but others believe that traditional livestock farming and the cultured meat industry can exert great synergy.” He said. The explanation is that existing livestock farmers or processors who are familiar with the ingredients and characteristics of meat can help create and process the ingredients of cultured meat.
CEO Desitre said, “Innovation is always full of conflict. “If large-scale investment in cultured meat continues and scientific progress is made, many conflicts will be resolved,” he said.
Reporter Choi Ji-won [email protected]
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“There is no other option for the survival of starving humanity.”