The delicate balance between economy, energy and the environment

The speakers addressed the topic of decarbonization as an ambitious challenge involving multiple variables: not only the energy produced, but also the technology and resources used. Director of the Center for Sustainable Energy Luigi Crema spoke for FBK.
Competitiveness and sustainability outline a delicate balance between more purely economic and geopolitical aspects and the complex relationship between technology and the environment.
Dina Lanzi pointed out that, in Italy, 70% of the energy we consume come from fossil fuels while only 30% is represented by electricity.
During the meeting, the strategic roles of nuclear energy and hydrogen, and the technologies behind them, emerged as the elements defining a new balance for the energy market of the future. Emanuele Martinolli reminded us that currently worldwide nuclear power accounts for only 10% of electricity generation sources.

“Europe sees hydrogen as a strategic resource to provide support to the energy transition and decarbonization process. Many European policies identify the development of fuels of non-biological origin as a priority, especially electrolyzers that convert electricity from renewable sources into hydrogen, to meet usage demand in certain sectors, for instance those that are difficult to decarbonize such as heavy industry or heavy mobility, “Luigi Crema pointed out.

This transition process includes a European plan for the development of continental-scale infrastructure such as the future network for hydrogen transport on the European continent – The European Hydrogen Backbone (EHB) – which will be implemented by 2040 in Europe with a nearly 60,000 km-network, in addition to the network of hydrogen refueling stations that will support the development of fuel cell mobility.
In parallel, there are also plans to launch additional regional projects called Hydrogen Valleys that will start the development of the entire hydrogen supply chain in a local ecosystem from production to distribution-storage to end uses. The Province of Trento has identified local development of the hydrogen sector as a priority and thus established the Hydrogen Hub in Rovereto. The Hydrogen Hub brings together the expertise of Fondazione Bruno Kessler‘s Center for Sustainable Energy to foster the development of a local industrial ecosystem that also implements collaboration with other players such as UFI HYDROGEN, TORMENE and SOLYDERA. Hydrogen, therefore, will also represent a key asset of the energy system of the future.

The speakers at the event, moderated by SILVIA DI ROSA (President of the Luigi Negrelli Foundation, Assembly of Presidents of the Association of Engineers of Italy), included:

MASSIMO BECCARELLO (University of Milan – Bicocca), DINA LANZI  (Head of Technological Development at Snam’s Decarbonization Projects Unit), EMANUELE MARTINOLLI, Manager and Expert Fellow in Reactor Physics and LUIGI CREMA, Director of Fondazione Bruno Kessler’s Center for Sustainable Energy and President of Hydrogen Europe Research).

Follow the links to the event

Follow the link to the Trento Festival of Economics Program