Energy: ENEA wins 5 million tender for biorefinery and green chemistry

Strengthening research and development of innovative biofuels and biolubricants, biomethane and syngas for frontier energy applications. This is the goal of the project worth about 10 million euro, co-financed by ENEA and the Basilicata Region, in Southern Italy, to strengthen and expand the Integrated Platform for Biorefinery and Green Chemistry (PIBE) in operation at the ENEA Research Center in Trisaia (MT).  ENEA has in fact won a tender that provides for a contribution from the Basilicata region of 5 million euro as part of the 2014-2020 FESR BASILICATA "Support to research infrastructures considered critical / crucial for regional systems".

The expansion of this platform, already included in the list of strategic infrastructures identified by the National Research Program (PRIN), will make it possible to strengthen applied research activities in sectors of particular importance, on which major international players are making significant industrial investments. ", Giacobbe Braccio, Head of the ENEA Bioenergy, Biorefinery and Green Chemistry Division, pointed out.  “Research to produce renewable energy and bio-products from biomass also contributes to the transition to a decarbonised economy based on the sustainable use of renewable resources".

The experimentation platform will allow the companies of the sector operating in the region to have an experimental facility unique in Europe, suitable for the development of innovative processes and products to introduce quickly in international markets.

At the operational level, in particular, new experimental facilities will be developed for the validation of processes for the production of biolubricants, using renewable raw materials and sustainable technologies and for the optimization of the processes of production of second generation sugars, starting from lignocellulose materials . New laboratories and infrastructures will also be built for the production of advanced biofuels and biolubricants including products deriving from the treatment of vegetable oils, including those used for separate waste collection.

Furthermore, processes for the production of gases with a high energy content and a low content of contaminants - obtained both biochemically (biomethane) and thermochemical (syngas) - for advanced energy applications in high efficiency cycles, will be validated.

The strengthening of the PIBE platform is an opportunity for further development for the ENEA Trisaia  Research Center and for the entire regional and national territory, also with reference to the consequences in terms of environmental benefits and economic and employment growth.

Clustering and characterization of the green bioenergy-chemical chain will also be encouraged, strengthening the quality and productivity of research, as well as the professional qualification of the personnel involved.

Furthermore the Platform, as a node open to the industrial system, designed to systematize the best energies of the scientific community and the productive system , will contribute to promoting the transfer of research and innovation results on green energy and bioenergy in products and services that are rapidly entering the market.

The Trisaia Research Center, in the Matera province, is the most important ENEA research center in the South, with about 140 employees mainly dealing with bioenergy, environmental technologies and materials technologies.

For more information please contact:

Giacobbe Braccio, ENEA – Head Division "Bioenergy, Biorefinery and  Green Chemistry"

Email: giacobbe.braccio@enea.it