Milan, 15 May 2009 – The award presentation ceremony for the 2009 eni award was held today at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, in the presence of the Italian Minister for Education, University and Research, Mariastella Gelmini, the Mayor of Milan, Letizia Moratti, and Eni Chairman Roberto Poli. The Eni Award was created by Eni in 2007 and aims at becoming in the course of time a real Nobel prize for energy and environment.

Even today the eni award is considered by the international scientific community to be one of the most valuable acknowledgements. The high level Scientific Commission of the eni award , which is responsible for evaluating candidates and awarding prizes, is made up of researchers and scientists who come from the most important research centres in the world and also lists two Nobel Prize winners among its members: Harold Kroto e Theodor Wolfgang Hänsch.

The success of this award, and its growing importance, is exemplified by the high amount of applications for the award: numbering 490 among important scientists and researchers from all over the world, more than the double that of the previous year.

In recent years, Eni has carried out a significant, strategic renewal of its research structures and activities, reaching important results. Among these are the many international alliances we have signed with prestigious research institutes such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) based in Boston, as well as significant cooperation agreements sealed with several Italian universities and the recent, innovative agreement with the Ministry of Scientific Research and the University of L'Aquila to contribute to the recovery of the region following the earthquake. The signature of these deals and the optimization of Eni's own research activities enabled the company to quadruple the number of patents registered between 2006 and today . Some of them, specifically in the field of renewable energies and environmental protection, are at a world level.

This year, following this evolution, the eni award focuses on the research fields characterizing Eni's strategic research guidelines which involve the company's 360° commitment for energy sustainability and environmental safeguard. The prize also targets activities in the fields of new hydrocarbon frontiers, renewable and non-conventional energies, environmental protection and debut in research.
The New Frontiers in Hydrocarbons award has been awarded "ex aequo" to Alan G. Marshall, Director of the ICR Program at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory of Florida State University since 1993 (USA) and Tony Settari, Oil Engineering Chair at Calgary University (Canada). The prize has been awarded for research into cutting-edge technology and innovation for the exploration, advanced recovery, development, refining, transportation and distribution of oil and natural gas.
The Renewable and Non-Conventional Energy award, recognizing advanced research and development results in the field of renewable and non-conventional sources, has been awarded to Martin Green, Inaugural Australian Federation Fellow and Science Professor at New South Wales University in Sydney (Australia).
The Protection of the Environment award has been awarded to Gérard Férey (France), Professor at Versailles University and member of the Académie des Sciences de l'Institut de France. The prize has been presented for outstanding research and innovation in areas concerning the environmental impact of human activities, specifically the protection and restoration of the environment, with a special focus on research and innovative technologies to eliminate local pollutants and CO2 and improve environmental conditions.
The two Research Debut awards, given to young scholars to promote research in Italy, have been awarded to Alberto Cuoci and Loredana De Rogatis. They cover the same areas as the three international awards: research and technological innovation in hydrocarbons, renewable and non-conventional energy, protection and restoration of the environment.

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