Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development
Press releases and news
The EAGLES-300 lead-cooled fast Small Modular Reactor (SMR) has been confirmed among the eight projects selected by the European Industrial Alliance on SMRs as the most promising initiatives to drive the deployment of next-generation SMRs in Europe. Led by Ansaldo Nucleare, ENEA, RATEN and SCK CEN, the project was first included in the Alliance’s initial shortlist in 2024 and now the assessment has confirmed that EAGLES-300 continues to fully meet the selection criteria and has made tangible progress since the previous evaluation.
ENEA has developed CI-RES, an innovative platform designed to support national institutions and operators of essential services in risk assessment and resilience planning. Leveraging a WebGIS interface that integrates territorial datasets, hazard maps, and information on critical infrastructures, CI-RES enables comprehensive analysis of vulnerabilities, hazards, risks, potential impacts, and cascading effects across interconnected systems.
An international team coordinated by ENEA has developed guidelines for collecting traceability and sustainability data in the fashion sector. These guidelines support companies in complying with future European regulatory obligations, such as the introduction of the Digital Product Passport (DPP), which is planned for 2027. The document, published by the European Committee for Standardisation, was drafted with the support of the Italian standardisation body UNI, together with experts from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) and Reverse Resource. It was presented at an event organised by DigitX Innovation Hub, a leading centre for textile companies, retailers, and research organisations.
ENEA has developed the video game, Master Grid, to educate users on how to manage an intelligent electricity network (smart grid). Although the application is primarily aimed at a young audience, adults can also put their skills to the test.
Developed by the Smart Grid and Energy Networks Laboratory within the Department of Energy Technologies and Renewable Sources, Master Grid is part of the National Electric System Research Programme's 2022–2024 Three-Year Plan. It offers an interactive gaming experience that intuitively demonstrates the importance of intelligence and advanced control logic for operating a modern power grid. This includes balancing electricity generation and consumption, preventing failures, and optimising resources.
The number of Italian forests and lakes being monitored has increased, and 18 new environmental indicators have been developed to assess the effects of air pollution on ecosystems. These are the main results of the LIFE MODERn (NEC) project, which was coordinated by the Italian Forestry, Environmental and Agri-food Units Command of the Carabinieri (CUFAA) and involved ENEA.
A team of 24 international researchers from 7 countries, including Italian representatives from ENEA, CNR, CREA and the University of Turin, has produced a comprehensive catalogue of eggplant genes (the pan-genome) and agronomic traits (the pan-phenome). The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, makes it possible to reconstruct the history of this crop and opens up new prospects for its future breeding.