Our planet would be poorer and more polluted without research and technological development. Natural resources wouldn't be available and mankind would suffer from starvation, lack of energy resources and there would be enormous difficulty in communications.
The progress obtained by technology as well as all the new findings and knowledge have moved forward the limits of known resources and the discovery of new ones has constantly contradicted catastrophic outlooks of a fatal global decline.

The Energy Industry has run up a debt to technology for all the achievements it has allowed: from the increases in energy efficiency obtained during the past fifty years to the increased availability of fossil resources; from the lower environmental impact to the reduction in the energy generation cost of all energy sources and much more. However, the industry hasn't always invested enough to make sure that science and technology could accomplish even more. This trend is at least in part due to a paradox of success: throughout the 20th century it was possible to keep energy prices low thanks to technological and scientific progress. Consequently, low prices discouraged further investments especially when it came to renewable energy sources. Nevertheless the present and the future call for a change in attitude.

A high technological committment is required in order to exploit traditional resources evermore difficult, starting from oil. It also takes a big effort in research in order to lower the polluting potential of traditional sources of energy – oil, gas and coal – as well as the negative effects of fossil fuels on our planet's climate. In general, we need to accomplish a development model with lower carbon intensity. The solution is not close at hand yet. It requires long-term commitment in basic research and technology innovation.

For these reasons starting from 2006, Eni launched a new course in the strategy of technology innovation and management of research activities, making it a reference point of the broader strategy of sustainable development. This first edition of Eni's Technology Report  - published alongside Eni's Sustainability Report since this year – offers to its readers a summary of the actions taken so far.
In a short time, we have already obtained important results. Nevertheless, they are nothing but the beginning of a path that has as final objective to make Eni a world leader in technology innovation in oil, gas, environment and innovative renewable energies as well.

Paolo Scaroni, Chief Executive Officer

The energy scenario faces us with challenges that demand substantial scientific commitment and technological creativity. Indeed, the energy industry operates in increasingly articulated, complex and difficult competitive and regulatory environments. And, at the same time, it has to respond to a problem to which there is no simple and straightforward solution: how to provide ever-greater quantities of energy, while guaranteeing constant, uninterrupted supplies and eliminating the environmental impact of production activities and the various uses of fossil fuels.

The oil business is probably second only to the aerospace industry (not coincidentally as flourishing as in the past) in being capital intensive. What that means is that everything we do costs a great deal of money. The main reason for this is the high technology content of what we do, across all sectors. We are obliged to work in contexts and environments whose limits, also geographical, expand every day. In order to respond we have to adopt the highest applicable technical standards, and engage in continuous research for new technologies, systems and materials.

This is nothing new. The search for, the gathering and the use of natural resources, including hydrocarbons, has always demanded a capacity to overcome the difficulties and challenges of nature. In particular, over the 150 years of its history, the petroleum industry, by studying and adopting technical solutions to reduce mineral risks, or better to improve the success of exploration activities, has gone into new, more difficult regions, such as deep water and arctic zones, in order to meet the rising demand for hydrocarbons and to reduce both unit costs and the environmental impact of their use.

The whole industry has consequently increased its use of research, which has led to technologies that make it possible to use fossil fuels more efficiently and with lower levels of pollution. Here too, great advances have been achieved and new strides are constantly being made.

And overall, these are the reasons why those who have predicted the end of oil have jumped the gun. Of course the underground resources of oil and natural gas are finite. But we are still a long way from the point of no return in terms of the decline in production and, above all, we still don't know whether the end of the age of oil will come about because of a scarcity of the resources or because of a progressive fall in demand.

For all these reasons, technological innovation in the field of energy is the central pillar of Eni's strategy. The organisation of research activities was radically reconfigured in 2006 in order to increase efficiency by drawing up a new mission statement for the company's research centres.

Energy efficiency, an issue on which Eni is particularly focused, is of fundamental importance to the sustainability of any energy system. And Eni's aim in scientific research and technological innovation is to improve the return of all of its activities by using energy more effectively, getting more at a lower cost, and guaranteeing the sustainability of its efforts and investments thanks to the contribution of technology and its speedy application.

Eni's business has historically centred around the exploration, production, transport and transformation of hydrocarbons, sectors where innovation efforts are concentrated and in which Eni aims to achieve and maintain undisputed technological leadership that can ensure clear competitive advantages.

The strong points of Eni's scientific research are the researchers and the laboratories of its Divisions and companies that study and develop ad hoc technological solutions and support for the group's core activities, providing extraordinary results in terms of breakthrough solutions and patent quality.

For some years Eni has also been pursuing research and development activities in the field of renewable energy, evaluating the opportunities for exploiting synergies with the hydrocarbons industry in the search for technological solutions able to make a significant breakthrough with regard to the current situation and to bring about a serious increase in environmental sustainability.

In particular, the Donegani Institute in Novara was re-named the "Research Centre for Non-Conventional Fuels", and now has the task of concentrating most of the activities included in a programme drawn up in 2007 on the development of scientific research activities that are on the cutting edge in the fields of renewables, environmental recovery technologies and energy efficiency. Such activities are focused on research areas that more than others can offer the best prospects of having an impact in the energy sector and the broadest possible synergies with Eni's "core business".

Consistent with these objectives, solar energy, the production of hydrogen and biomass have been identified as the energy sources with the highest potential for large-scale, sustainable use in the medium-long term.

In order to make intensive use of the abundant and inexhaustible resource of solar energy we need to identify affordable and innovative technological solutions that are also scalable on an industrial level. In particular, it is fundamental to develop new materials and devices to capture and convert solar energy into thermal, electrical and chemical energy. However, Eni is convinced that intense research and development efforts will, in the future, make it possible to use this renewable source in a way that is both economic and sustainable.

It is a challenge that Eni wants to take on, well aware that the fruits will be gathered only in the medium-long term. Nevertheless, we have already achieved promising results that we think can be brought to market in the not too distant future. And this is the best demonstration of the validity of our decisions and the effectiveness of our commitment.

The Eni technology report 2007-08 contains a summary of the issues and the results of our research, including initial successes in the filed of renewable energy. The next edition, the Eni technology report 2009-10, will be published at the end of 2010.

Umberto Vergine, Head of Research and Development