Eni and the University of Naples Federico II together for a future sustainable industrial development

Eni and the University of Naples Federico II today signed a research and development cooperation agreement that will focus on the sectors for which the concepts of building a circular economy and Industry 4.0 rely.

Naples (Italy), 15 October 2018 – Eni and the University of Naples Federico II today signed a research and development cooperation agreement that will focus on the sectors for which the concepts of building a circular economy and Industry 4.0 rely.

The three-year collaboration will involve taking advantage of  research sectors in which the University excels. These include several R&D topics related to the Industry 4.0 concept and include industrial automation and advanced robotics, technologies for the development of green energies, big data & analytics, and innovative materials for optimising production processes. Key initiatives include:

• National Operating Plan – Biofeedstock: Adding value to waste biomass
• Competence Centre Industry 4.0: Advanced analytics on production sites
• Blue Growth Technology Cluster: Research for industries focused on the sea
• Joint Eni-Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) Laboratory: a research centre focused on agriculture, in cooperation with “Dipartimento di Agraria”

This strategic alliance will also focus on the challenges of building sustainable development based on the concept of a circular economy. Areas of research will include energy transition innovation and the future of industry.

Eni and the University of Naples have already collaborated in research areas focused on oil exploration. Previous partnerships developed important methodologies for analysing seismic data, researched innovative solutions for aerial robotics and carried out studies that scrutinized vehicle emissions.

This agreement is part of Eni's programme to build partnerships with globally recognised academic institutions and work in tandem to create solutions through research and innovation. The aim of the initiative is to promote partners teaming-up from the beginning of the research process and to foster the creation of innovative solutions for the needs of the energy industry.

This alliance enables Eni to expand its network of excellence with a number of research and innovation institutions, adding to its already valuable relationships with the Politecnico di Milano and the Politecnico di Torino. Eni’s target is sustainable development in the energy sector, which has been identified by the as a growth strategy for both the Company and Italy.