Digitisation: Italgas takes advantage of the G7 assist and strengthens its alliance with Azerbaijan and Japan on gas networks

The backdrop is the G7 Climate, Environment and Energy, staged in Turin, the historic headquarters of the group that started out in the Piedmontese capital in 1837 as the Compagnia di Illuminazione a Gaz for the city of the Mole. Italgas is taking advantage of the assist provided by the ministerial meeting, which will open tomorrow, Sunday 28 April, with the arrival of the heads of delegations and the start of the working session. During the G7 works and on the sidelines of the events organised at the Turin headquarters, the group's CEO, Paolo Gallo, will in fact meet the ministerial delegation from Baku, in Azerbaijan, the site of the next Cop29, composed of the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, Mukthar Babayev, the Deputy Minister of Energy, Elnur Soltanov, and the Azerbaijani ambassador to Italy, Rashad Aslanov, which will take place in November.

At the centre of the meeting is the alliance between Italgas and Socar, the Azerbaijani gas bigwig, already launched during a recent mission to Azerbaijan, which concerns collaboration on digital transformation and Picarro technology, one of the most advanced solutions for network monitoring at the moment. These tools, which are part of the acceleration path on technological innovation and digitalisation, strongly desired by CEO Gallo since his arrival at the helm of the group in August 2016, will be useful for evaluating collaboration hypotheses and launching joint projects in the field of emission control and energy efficiency.

But that with the Azeris is not the only front that will be further strengthened at the G7. In fact, Italgas is determined to shore up the axis with Japan as well: the presence of the delegation from Tokyo at the G7 Energy meeting represents an extraordinary opportunity for the consolidation of the strategic partnership between Italy and Japan. The agreement initiated with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Italgas and Tokyo Gas in November 2023 and the partnership with Marubeni, one of the largest Japanese companies in the field of trading and international investments in the energy sector, will thus act as a driving force for the development of an important industrial and technological collaboration between the two nations, in view of the mission that will see Italgas in Japan next June. In particular, the agreements with Tokyo Gas will enable the two companies to consolidate their leading role in the gas and hydrogen markets by sharing the experience gained in testing new solutions to enable networks to distribute and manage green gases, so as to also support the sustainable development objectives of the United Nations 2030 Agenda, in line with the commitments undertaken by the two countries under the Paris COP21 Climate Agreement.

Then, on Sunday 28 April, Italgas will host the top management of the Atlantic Council, the US think tank committed to promoting dialogue and international agreements based on the central role of the Atlantic Community, with particular reference to the energy and environment sectors, at its historical headquarters in Turin. The meeting will allow the management to illustrate the most significant company technologies, including Picarro, to the top management of the AC, as well as to strengthen the already consolidated and strong cooperation with the American Institute. Also on Sunday, Gallo will then take part in the Summit for the Future of Energy with the aim of illustrating Italgas' point of view on issues of absolute international relevance, such as global energy security and, in this perspective, the role of transoceanic routes for energy transportation. The summit will also see the participation of important international guests, such as David Turk, US Deputy Secretary of Energy, Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), and Lyndsey Merrill, Special Assistant to the US President and Senior Director for Energy and Investment.