Energy: New method for identifying effective decarbonisation policies

A new method for evaluating the energy technologies present on the national territory and identifying the most effective policies for the transition towards a low carbon national production system. This is the subject of the study “Assessment of the state and development potential of energy technologies in the decarbonisation process of production systems and services”, to be presented in Rome on January 30th at the ENEA legal office.

This methodology for assessing the potential of development of energy technologies, takes into account their impact on the climate, their potential in terms of R&D activities, the competitiveness of Italian companies and their diffusion and impact on the national territory.

To this end, data such as level of technological maturity TRL (Technology Readiness Level), CO2 emissions avoided and their use within companies and centers of excellence, divided by territorial diffusion, size and turnover, are compared.

For some technologies, the results show a certain degree of market penetration in different industrial sectors. In this case, we refer to wind, hydroelectric and solar thermal energy among renewable sources and to heat pumps to increase the energy efficiency of buildings.

Companies and centers of excellence are instead involved in the development of technologies with a lower degree of maturity, but with significant potential to mitigate climate-altering effects.

These include thermal, electrochemical and chemical storage systems and, among renewables, concentrating photovoltaic, solar thermodynamic and energy from marine currents ", Elena De Luca, researcher at the ENEA Energy Technologies Department, explained.

The role of energy technologies, in addition to being crucial in mitigating impacts on the climate, ecosystems and health, has important consequences on the economic and social context.

“Regional mapping of local business units and centers of excellence show an uneven distribution. The former in fact have a greater concentration in the North while the latter are more homogeneously distributed .

This suggests that, alongside strengthening networks and infrastructures, boosting technology transfer initiatives could contribute to a more homogeneous growth of  the territories ", De Luca continued.

Italy, which has reached the renewable energy share in final consumption envisaged by the European Union thanks to the incentive system, has not concurrently strengthened domestic production of some of the technologies adopted.

This has led to an increase in the import of components and systems, such as photovoltaic panels, manufactured abroad, with a consequent high expenditure.

"An important next step towards a low-carbon economy could be the creation of a permanent observatory allowing a continuous and widespread assessment across the territory," De Luca concluded.

For more information please contact:

Elena De Luca, ENEA – Energy Technologies Department, elena.deluca@enea.it

Link to the Report https://www.enea.it/it/seguici/pubblicazioni/pdf-volumi/2019/valutazione_tecnologie_energetiche.pdf

Link to the presentation of the study on January 30th https://www.enea.it/it/seguici/events/tecnologie-energetiche/save-the-date-le-tecnologie-energetiche-nel-percorso-di-decarbonizzazione-del-sistema-produttivo-italiano