The exhibit, hosted in the open space in front of the Institute's headquarters, was designed to offer an immersive experience to discover geothermal energy.
Next Friday, March 21, at the Rome Headquarters of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), the inauguration of PULSE - Power Under Land, Source of Energy will take place, the innovative scientific installation entirely dedicated to geothermal energy, the discipline that studies the sources of terrestrial heat and their use for energy purposes.
The exhibit, multimedia and unique in its kind, was conceived and developed as an immersive experience that, through images, sounds and simulations, will allow the public to "enter" the heart of Planet Earth to explore the terrestrial heat sources, observe the behavior of geothermal fluids and deepen their knowledge of geothermal energy, a sustainable energy source capable of contributing to the process of migration from fossil fuels towards more sustainable resources for the environment and the climate.
PULSE was created as part of the third mission activities of INGV, on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Institute, with the contribution of the IRGIE Project (Inventory of Geothermal Resources of the Aeolian Islands) and in collaboration with the artistic collective LIMINAL STATE.
“With PULSE we want to offer the public, young and old, and the scientific community an innovative tool to ‘see’ and ‘feel’ the energy contained within Planet Earth,” explains Monia Procesi, co-scientific manager of the IRGIE Project and co-creator of the exhibit.
“Reducing human impact on the environment and climate must be a global humanitarian commitment, which also starts with information, education and dissemination actions”, adds Corrado Castellano, co-creator of PULSE.
The installation is composed of two parts: a monolithic external digital sculpture, made up of two large LED walls, separated from each other by heating lamps, and on which videos and images will flow to tell the story of the earth's heat, from its deep origin to its superficial manifestations such as geysers, fumaroles and thermal springs; and an internal area, dedicated to the dissemination of content on geothermal resources, their uses in Italy and around the world and the role of geothermal energy in the ecological transition; including a web platform accessible everywhere.
The jewel in the crown of the exhibit is the simulation of a fumarolic event inspired by the natural phenomena of geothermal areas, which will offer a unique visual and sensory experience.
Thanks to the contribution of Enel Green Power, it will also be possible to observe rocks from over 1000 meters deep extracted from the geothermal reservoirs of the Larderello fields, the oldest and at the same time most innovative geothermal complex in the world, which has 34 geothermal power plants, for a total of 37 production groups, located between the provinces of Pisa, Siena and Grosseto and managed by Enel Green Power itself.
The almost 6 billion KWh produced annually in the Tuscan territory, in addition to satisfying more than 33% of the regional electricity needs and representing 70% of the renewables produced in the Region, provide heat useful for heating approximately 13.000 users, 27 hectares of greenhouses and numerous companies in the artisan, agricultural and quality slow food supply chains.
The inauguration of PULSE at INGV will be introduced by a conference hosted in the Institute's Conference Room. The institutional greetings of the President of INGV, the Director of the INGV Environment Department, Massimo Chiappini, and the Director of the Department of Energy of the Sicilian Region, Calogero Giuseppe Burgio, will be followed by speeches by:
-
Monia Procesi, INGV Researcher, Co-scientific Manager of the IRGIE Project;
-
Sabina Bigi, President of the 'Georisorse' Section of the Italian Geological Society (SGI);
-
Giampaolo Vecchieschi, Head of Geothermal Permitting at Enel Green Power;
-
Claudio Alimonti, Councilor of the Italian Geothermal Union;
-
Saverio Villirillo and Gregorio Comandini, LIMINAL STATE.
For more information, download the flyer here.
Useful links:
National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV)
Department of Energy of the Sicilian Region
Figure 1: Monolithic digital structure that will be positioned in the external area of INGV 
Figure 2: Detail of the monolithic structure with evocative videos and images of the Earth's interior