San Donato Milanese (Milan), 26 November 2021 – The President of the National Research Council (CNR), Maria Chiara Carrozza, and Eni's CEO, Claudio Descalzi, today signed the renewal of the Framework Agreement as part of joint research and technological innovation activities for a duration of three years plus two additional optional years.
The agreement provides for the development of projects and initiatives to address the challenges of the energy transition through the identification of strategic areas of development such as operational excellence, i.e. the identification of key technologies for resource development, decarbonization, energy saving, the circular economy and sustainability in processes related to the local community development.
Eni's CEO, Claudio Descalzi, commented: “Innovation and technological development are the strategic key to successfully tackling the challenge of the energy transition, and we will only succeed in reducing the emissions of industries that vary widely in their characteristics and needs if we are able to harness them effectively and in a pragmatic way. For this reason, these fundamental areas must be strengthened by bringing together the best-in-class resources and skills to contribute to the decarbonisation process of an industrial system that has reached a crucial path. Today with the CNR we renew a collaboration that goes precisely in this direction in the interest of working together on achieving our common objectives ".
The President of the National Research Council (CNR), Maria Chiara Carrozza, commented, “The Eni-CNR collaboration identifies some strategic research and technological innovation paths for the energy transition: advanced and low carbon bio-fuels; reuse and valorisation of waste; CO2 capture, use and storage; wave motion energy; magnetic confinement fusion. These are technologies that are at the heart of future mobility, the circular economy, and global decarbonization and electrification efforts, which will require major synergies such as those which we have renewed today.”
The Eni and the CNR partnership began in 2009 and over the years has led to innovative solutions in various fields, including solar energy, the phyto-purification of contaminated water and soils and the reuse of CO2, seeing the registration of around 24 patents for proprietary technologies.
The new Agreement sits alongside the Joint Research Agreement, signed by the parties in 2019, which led to the creation of four joint research centres, located in Southern Italy (Lecce, Gela, Metaponto and Portici) that contribute to the design of projects for sustainable environmental and economic development in Italy and worldwide.
