Energy: ENEA and INER find scientific cooperation across the ocean

The bilateral agreement laid the basis for a cooperation in the field of energy and renewables.  Activities, which may span from research to technology transfer and  training, will be particularly aimed at promoting mutual knowledge in thermodynamic solar energy, photovoltaics, energy storage, biomass and bio-fuels.

ENEA and INER, the Instituto National de Eficiencia Energética y EnergÍa renovables of Ecuador, signed a bilateral agreement and laid the basis for a cooperation in the field of energy and renewables.  Activities, which may span from research to technology transfer and  training, will be particularly aimed at promoting mutual knowledge in thermodynamic solar energy, photovoltaics, energy storage, biomass and bio-fuels.

The initiative is particularly relevant since although Italy and Ecuador signed a general agreement for cultural, scientific and technological cooperation in February 1999, no research programmes have been implemented till now. ENEA boosts a number of international cooperation projects around the world, also in South America, where researches in aerospace and for the protection of cultural heritage are being carried out in Mexico, and in physics, nanotechnologies, robotics, and bio-fuels are on course in Brazil.  The new agreement with Ecuador may prove another fruitful one, since ENEA and INER have a lot to work on: regarding energy, they are both leader research organizations in their respective countries and share the same concern for the environment and the global climate issues. Also they are both committed to promoting the sustainable competitiveness of their national industry. On top of it, the outcomes of the COP21, the conference on climate change recently held in Paris, may cast an even more brighter light on the signing, since energy and renewables are at the core of global warming mitigation policies to hit the 1.5°C goal.

For further information:

Isabella Mazziotti, ENEA, isabella.mazziotti@enea.it