ENEA-Stazione Pelli agreement for more sustainable tanning sector

Identifying innovative manufacturing processes with reduced environmental impact in the tanning industry, with a circular economy approach. It’s the goal of the three-year partnership agreement between ENEA and the Experimental Station for the Leather Industry (SSIP), signed by their Presidents Federico Testa and Graziano Balducci.

"The transfer of innovative technologies to increase sustainability and competitiveness of companies is one of ENEA's priority objectives", Federico Testa, President of ENEA, pointed out.  "The agreement with Stazione Pelli aims at supporting the tanning industry in order to strengthen its leadership at the European level and its position among global players ", Testa said.

"With this agreement we have committed to collaborating on research on advanced materials, with the purpose of enhancing new materials derived from production waste, by-products and sludge", Graziano Balducci, President of the SSIP, said. "We believe it’s possible to identify process materials with a lower environmental impact than the current ones".

The activities envisaged by the agreement include research on advanced materials and environmental sustainability, with particular reference to the Life Cycle Assessement and the "carbon footprint" of products.

The SSIP is a national research organization of the Chambers of Commerce of Naples, Pisa and Vicenza, which has operated since 1885 in support of Italian companies in the tanning sector with activities of research and development, training, product and process certification, analysis, control and consultancy.