The Rector of the Politecnico di Torino, Professor Guido Saracco, and Eni’s CEO, Claudio Descalzi, have signed a memorandum of understanding to further strengthen scientific collaboration and undertake a joint academic initiative to study energy from marine resources.
This agreement will involve the launch of the “MarEnergy Lab” research laboratory, which will investigate specific issues, enhance related understanding, and also contribute to the rapid deployment of industrial technologies that use marine energy resources.
Furthermore, a teaching position on “Energy from the Sea” will be created to train engineers who will specialise in the use of the new technologies developed in the laboratory itself.
Eni has developed the first integrated power generation plant in the world using wave and photovoltaic energy: the Intertial Sea Wave Energy Converter (ISWEC). This project has been undertaken in collaboration with The Politecnico di Torino and Wave for Energy, a subsidiary of the Politecnico. The ISWEC has been operating since March 2019 in the Ravenna offshore and has proven highly reliable and able to adapt to different sea conditions, thanks to its active control and regulation system. During the operating period, the maximum nominal power value of 50 kW was exceeded.
This Agreement will ensure that the collaboration between both parties further widens to include joint activities in the study of marine energy sources, and extending to wave motion as well as offshore wind power, ocean currents and tides, and saline gradients.
CEO Eni, Claudio Descalzi , said: “Thanks to this strengthened collaboration with the Politecnico di Torino, Eni reaffirms its commitment to the development and implementation of new technologies which will play a key role in decarbonisation, looking forward to new energy frontiers with a focus on the largest unused renewable energy source in the world: waves.”
“Collaborating with Eni in a sector of strategic importance for the planet as is energy production from renewable sources, exemplifies open innovation at our University’s research laboratories. Our laboratories have completed all the necessary preparatory stages, from creating the Wave for Energy subsidiary, to its adoption by a large industrial group. This agreement further enhances our collaboration with Eni by extending it to education and by establishing a related supply chain, as well as expanding our collaboration on research areas relating to sea energy,” concluded Guido Saracco , the Rector of the Politecnico.