Press releases and news

The ENEA and FOS Microcosm, where crops are grown using less energy, pesticides and resources, has been introduced in schools for the first time. The initiative has involved the laboratories of eight high schools in Sicily, Puglia, Campania, Lombardy and Veneto to test this innovative system which allows to grow crops like potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce and basil even in harsh and unconventional environments, like subway corridors, in shopping mall tunnels, up to spaceships.

The ENEA 12th Annual Report on Energy Efficiency and the 14th Annual Report on tax deductions for energy saving interventions and use of renewable energy sources in existing buildings estimated a record saving of 3 billion euros in the 2022 national energy bill, thanks to energy efficiency interventions linked to lower imports of oil and gas, equivalent to a CO₂ emissions reduction of approximately 6.5 million tonnes and a saving of slightly over 2.5 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe), a result that brings Italy closer to the objectives of the new Energy Efficiency Directive. The reports were presented during a conference held in Rome at Palazzo Valentini.

An hi-tech isolation platform, designed specifically to protect from rail and road traffic vibrations and possible earthquake shocks the “Sarcophagus of the Spouses”, a  masterpiece of Etruscan art known throughout the world and kept in the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia in Rome.

New climate alarm for the Mediterranean, which from May 2022 to May 2023 faced the longest heat wave ever recorded in the last 40 years, with a 4°C increase in sea temperatures and peaks above 23°C mainly occurring in the western basin, as shown by the CAREHeat 2 project -funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) and comprising ENEA and Cnr (coordinator) for Italy. The outcomes were published in the prestigious journal “Environmental Research Letters”.

Developing new operational guidelines on the implementation of European directives for energy efficiency in buildings, from zero-emission buildings to energy performance certificates (APE). This is the objective of the European project EPBD.wise about to take off, comprising nine members from seven EU countries, including ENEA for Italy.

ENEA, as part of the “Electrical System Research” (RSE) program funded by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, has created in the Casaccia Research Center (Rome) an actual ‘smart road’ with improved safety, traffic flows and driving comfort, with benefits in terms of energy saving and sustainability. The Smart Road project provides for the implementation of a self-driving electric vehicle and 22 hi-tech street lamps guaranteeing a dense communication network with an innovative processing and decision support infrastructure.