RSE and the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at collaboration in research activities in the geothermal field
The agreement was signed on May 14th in Rome, at the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, Franco Cotana, CEO of RSE and Carlo Doglioni, President INGV.
«High, medium and low enthalpy geothermal energy is a sustainable energy source with zero CO2 emissions. In the first case, the high temperatures allow the production of steam and, from it, electrical energy. A model to look at is the Larderello example from over 100 years ago. In other cases, geothermal energy makes it possible to promote district heating or, simply, to increase the thermal energy efficiency of heat pumps up to 6 - 8 times"Said Franco Cotana. «We are pleased, therefore, to sanction today the start of a fruitful collaboration on these issues with INGV and its researchers, to identify innovative energy solutions».
«Italy boasts a long tradition in the geothermal energy sector, demonstrated by the numerous power plants present in Tuscany in particular», he added Carlo Doglioni. «The signing of the memorandum of understanding with RSE allows us to make available to the community the scientific knowledge that INGV has acquired over time in this sector full of potential, and to look to the future to invest in renewable resources that can contribute to reduce the environmental impact of human activities".
The meeting was opened by greetings from Head of Cabinet of the Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, Antonio Scino: "The protocol will boost research related to the soil and the development of alternative energies, such as geothermal energy, in safety. This will be useful for the work of the Energy Department and for the entire Ministry".
The appointment then continued with the interventions of Marilena Barbaro, General Director formerly DG Infrastructure and Security MASE, Massimo Chiappini, Director of the INGV Environment Department, and Michele de Nigris, Director of the RSE Energy Sources Development Department.
«As MASE we are committed to implementing all the initiatives necessary to strengthen Italian geothermal energy. The partnership between RSE and INGV will make an essential contribution to valorising the geothermal resource. The Ministry is ready to support this growth. Our goal is to have a balanced energy mix that looks towards decarbonisation and the country's energy independence", has explained Marilena Barbaro.
«Larderello, in Tuscany, is known as the 'World Capital of Geothermal Energy': a sign of how Italy has the potential to establish itself as the nerve center of scientific research in this sector. The progress of knowledge must therefore be constantly encouraged, also through the signing of agreements such as the one between INGV and RSE. INGV will deploy cutting-edge technologies for the characterization of geothermal systems suitable for energy production, but also for the identification of areas that present energy potential through, for example, the use of white hydrogen", he stated Massimo Chiappini.
«Potentially, georesources can significantly promote the energy transition; however, up to now they have been considered inadequately. Thanks to its geothermal resources, Italy can aspire to a leadership position in continental Europe, as a producer of heat, electricity and critical raw materials, assuming a role of excellence in one of the energy sectors which today, however, sees us depending from distant countries and at the center of well-known geopolitical situations", he declared Michele de Nigris.
The collaboration between RSE and INGV will focus on research activity, to be developed in the short-medium term, on the impact of geological methane emissions on total greenhouse gas emissions; on the geochemical characterization of geothermal fluids and petroleum frosts to identify strategic materials; on hydrogen storage in geological systems; on the valorisation of the geothermal resource at low and medium enthalpy. In the long term, however, the two bodies will work jointly on a project for theupdating of the temperature maps of the Italian subsoil up to 4000 meters deep.
The applications of the results of the joint research activity could be numerous. Suffice it to say that geothermal frost can contain critical raw materials such as lithium, indispensable for the production of modern batteries for electric mobility and energy storage.
The agreement was signed on May 14th in Rome, at the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, Franco Cotana, CEO of RSE and Carlo Doglioni, President INGV.
«High, medium and low enthalpy geothermal energy is a sustainable energy source with zero CO2 emissions. In the first case, the high temperatures allow the production of steam and, from it, electrical energy. A model to look at is the Larderello example from over 100 years ago. In other cases, geothermal energy makes it possible to promote district heating or, simply, to increase the thermal energy efficiency of heat pumps up to 6 - 8 times"Said Franco Cotana. «We are pleased, therefore, to sanction today the start of a fruitful collaboration on these issues with INGV and its researchers, to identify innovative energy solutions».
«Italy boasts a long tradition in the geothermal energy sector, demonstrated by the numerous power plants present in Tuscany in particular», he added Carlo Doglioni. «The signing of the memorandum of understanding with RSE allows us to make available to the community the scientific knowledge that INGV has acquired over time in this sector full of potential, and to look to the future to invest in renewable resources that can contribute to reduce the environmental impact of human activities".
The meeting was opened by greetings from Head of Cabinet of the Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, Antonio Scino: "The protocol will boost research related to the soil and the development of alternative energies, such as geothermal energy, in safety. This will be useful for the work of the Energy Department and for the entire Ministry".
The appointment then continued with the interventions of Marilena Barbaro, General Director formerly DG Infrastructure and Security MASE, Massimo Chiappini, Director of the INGV Environment Department, and Michele de Nigris, Director of the RSE Energy Sources Development Department.
«As MASE we are committed to implementing all the initiatives necessary to strengthen Italian geothermal energy. The partnership between RSE and INGV will make an essential contribution to valorising the geothermal resource. The Ministry is ready to support this growth. Our goal is to have a balanced energy mix that looks towards decarbonisation and the country's energy independence", has explained Marilena Barbaro.
«Larderello, in Tuscany, is known as the 'World Capital of Geothermal Energy': a sign of how Italy has the potential to establish itself as the nerve center of scientific research in this sector. The progress of knowledge must therefore be constantly encouraged, also through the signing of agreements such as the one between INGV and RSE. INGV will deploy cutting-edge technologies for the characterization of geothermal systems suitable for energy production, but also for the identification of areas that present energy potential through, for example, the use of white hydrogen", he stated Massimo Chiappini.
«Potentially, georesources can significantly promote the energy transition; however, up to now they have been considered inadequately. Thanks to its geothermal resources, Italy can aspire to a leadership position in continental Europe, as a producer of heat, electricity and critical raw materials, assuming a role of excellence in one of the energy sectors which today, however, sees us depending from distant countries and at the center of well-known geopolitical situations", he declared Michele de Nigris.
The collaboration between RSE and INGV will focus on research activity, to be developed in the short-medium term, on the impact of geological methane emissions on total greenhouse gas emissions; on the geochemical characterization of geothermal fluids and petroleum frosts to identify strategic materials; on hydrogen storage in geological systems; on the valorisation of the geothermal resource at low and medium enthalpy. In the long term, however, the two bodies will work jointly on a project for theupdating of the temperature maps of the Italian subsoil up to 4000 meters deep.
The applications of the results of the joint research activity could be numerous. Suffice it to say that geothermal frost can contain critical raw materials such as lithium, indispensable for the production of modern batteries for electric mobility and energy storage.
Photo 1: A moment of the signing of the agreement with, from left, Franco Cotana, Antonio Scino, Carlo Doglioni
Photo 2: The signing of the memorandum of understanding between RSE and INGV in the presence of MASE
Photo 3: At the speakers' table, from left, Giuseppe Guerrera, Michele de Nigris, Marilena Barbaro, Franco Cotana, Antonio Scino, Carlo Doglioni, Massimo Chiappini