Energy transition, Nest Foundation: in one year 15 million in research and 8.8 in tenders
220 profiles have already been recruited, including PhD students, researchers, research fellows and technologists, 33% of whom are women. The results presented at a public event at the Politecnico di Bari
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Key points
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In little more than a year, the Nest Foundation - Network 4 energy sustainable transition, an extended partnership (including 12 universities and 4 research centres) promoted by the Ministry of Universities and Research (Mur) and financed by the Pnrr, has committed EUR 15 million to energy transition research activities and allocated EUR 8.820 million through eight cascading calls for industrial research and experimental development projects. At the same time, it has recruited a total of 220 PhD students, researchers, research fellows and technologists, 33% of whom are women. The data emerged from Fondazione Nest's annual public event, held on Wednesday 27 March at the Politecnico di Bari.
Committed 15.1 million for research
The Nest Project envisages, for the performance by Hubs, Spokes and affiliates of fundamental research, industrial research, experimental development, training and aid to innovation clusters, expenses totalling 118.3 million euro, 41% of which is to be allocated to the regions of Southern Italy (Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Apulia, Sardinia and Sicily). Against this expenditure, EUR 114.7 million in subsidies are planned. To date, Nest partners have reported €15.1 million in research expenses for energy transition, or 12.75% of total expenses in line with the target shared with the MUR for March 2024. A significant share of this expenditure was reported by public universities, almost €13 million, out of a total allocated to them of €85.8 million.
From storage to agrivoltage
.The Nest Foundation has already allocated, through cascading calls, EUR 8.820 million to finance industrial research projects. Among the calls still open is the most recent one, just published and coordinated by the National Research Council (CNR), which expires on 30 April and allocates €1.6 million to identify and develop, among other things, scale-up processes for materials for the evolution of large-scale tests. Also still open, until 19 April at 12 noon, is the call for proposals on energy storage (accumulation) coordinated by the Politecnico di Torino, which finances research projects by private companies for the study, design, realisation and testing of an intelligent battery cell with remote control and monitoring; for the engineering of a chemical storage process using reactive metals; for innovative thermal storage for low-temperature thermal networks; and for the prototype realisation of a PPP-type converter for recharging an electric vehicle.
Green hydrogen for airports
.Another of the main cascade calls promoted by the Nest Foundation, coordinated by the University of Genoa, concerns green hydrogen and has funded research projects by universities, public research organisations and other research bodies with EUR 1,540,000. These range from the development of sensors for detecting impurities in hydrogen to hydrogen hybrid propulsion systems for airport logistics operations, from innovation for producing green hydrogen from biomasses to experimental research on the combustion of innovative carbon-neutral fuels.
From digestate to biomass
.The Nest Foundation, with the coordination of the University of Pisa, is also funding public and private projects involving biomass and biofuel with 1,485,000 euro, from the production of biointermediates through waste pre-treatment to the construction of a pilot plant for the purification of biogenic CO2 and conversion into products, from the chemical conversion of digestate for biomass production to the construction of a burner based on mild technology.
