Eni Prize 2023: Awards for Eni’s scientific research

The Eni Award ceremony took place today at the Quirinale Palace, in the presence of President Sergio Mattarella, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Eni Giuseppe Zafarana and CEO of Eni Claudio Descalzi.

The award, which is being held for the fifteenth time this year, is considered an international reference point for research in the fields of energy and the environment and proves the importance of scientific research and technological innovation for Eni and its commitment to promoting sustainability and access to technology. Energy in line with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. There have been over eleven thousand applications since its establishment in 2008. The Scientific Commission, which evaluates the submitted research, consists of scientists from the world’s most advanced research institutes and has seen the participation of 6 Nobel Prize winners over the years.

This year too, Eni, through the Business School Joule, received a special mention of the Eni Joule for Entrepreneurship, which is aimed at teams, university companies, start-ups and aims to encourage the application, evaluation and transfer of technologies while also stimulating creation. A sustainable innovation ecosystem

The winners of the 2023 edition of the Eni Award were:

• The award for the Energy Conversion department, which aims for research in the field of energy efficiency and the capture, use and sequestration of carbon dioxide, was awarded to Yu Huang from the University of California (Los Angeles, USA). for research into economical and sustainable hydrogen fuel cells for the decarbonization of transportation, and to Jeffrey R. Long from the University of California (Berkeley, USA) for research on co-adsorption in MOF materials for gas capture.
  Yu Huang has developed highly efficient innovative catalysts for hydrogen fuel cells (HFCs), significantly improving both their performance and the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of production. In particular, it has created a protective layer on the nanometric scale that prevents these catalysts from deteriorating during their work, and a technology based on the use of nanowires that allows a radical reduction in the use of platinum, which is critical and has a high potential. Cost element. HFCs are an alternative to internal combustion engines and therefore a valid contribution to the decarbonisation of transport.
  Jeffrey R. Long has designed and developed crystalline-nanoporous materials, known by the acronym MOF, that when properly functionalized can selectively separate specific molecules even from complex mixtures. The main application concerns, for example, carbon dioxide separated from combustion gases or even air. These materials, characterized by high adsorbent capacity and low regeneration energy, work with an unprecedented cooperative adsorption mechanism. This facilitated their use in industrial processes to capture carbon dioxide from the air (Direct Air Capture, DAC);

• The award in the Frontiers of Energy section for research on renewable resources and energy storage was awarded to Matthew Rosseinsky from the University of Liverpool (UK) for his work on digital techniques for the design and discovery of next-generation energy-oriented materials. Using new computational techniques, Matthew Rosseinsky and his team have opened new perspectives in the field of materials science, including energy applications. Combining artificial intelligence, machine learning and computational physical models with automation, this integrated and innovative approach accelerates the discovery of high-performance materials by predicting both their properties and stability. Such new materials are necessary to address the net zero challenge; for example, solar absorbers without toxic components, new electrolytes with high transport properties for batteries, right down to oxides with the lowest thermal conductivity ever recorded for thermoelectric applications;

• In the Advanced Environmental Solutions section, dedicated to the development of scientific and technological innovation for the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, the award was given to Thalappil Pradeep from the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras (India) for his research on accessible technologies. Purification of water using advanced materials. Thalappil Pradeep discovered nanomaterials for removing toxic contaminants such as arsenic and uranium from water and with this developed an advanced, sustainable and economical solution to obtain drinking water. Currently, 1.3 million people in India benefit from this invention every day; This is achieved at an extremely affordable cost of 2.1 paise (US$0.00028) per liter of purified water. This technology, which stands out with its ease of maintenance and disposal, low costs and environmental impact, has been approved for nationwide implementation in India.

Section Young Talents from AfricaEstablished in 2017 on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Eni Prize and dedicated to young talents on the African continent, four awards in this edition were awarded to Gloria Amo-Duodu from Durban University of Technology (South Africa). ), to Elshaday Mulu Fetene from Moi University (Kenya), to Tsion Ayalew Kebede from Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia), and to Natnael Tilahun Sinshaw from Addis Ababa University of Science and Technology (Ethiopia). The winners will receive a scholarship that will allow them to attend a doctoral course at prestigious Italian universities to deepen and develop their innovative ideas.

• Gloria Amo-Duodu studied metal nanoparticles with magnetic properties to improve the quality of biogas produced from wastewater through anaerobic digestion.
• Elshaday Mulu Fetene analyzed the possibility of improving biogas through the use of natural and modified sorbents such as wood ash, clay and zeolites.
• Using remote sensing techniques and machine learning mechanisms, Tsion Ayalew Kebede focused on the effects of land use and land cover-related changes on climate.
• Finally, Natnael Tilahun Sinshaw developed a predictive model using deep learning systems to recognize diseases affecting crops in real time.

For category Young Researcher of the YearThe award, which recognizes two researchers who received doctoral degrees at Italian universities, was given to Michele Ghini and Hilmar del Carmen Guzmán Medina.

• Michele Ghini, who is pursuing his PhD at the Italian Institute of Technology in collaboration with the University of Genoa, worked on a technology based on metal oxide nanocrystals for an innovative system for the conversion, accumulation and release of solar energy under electrical loads. Their findings pave the way for a wide range of future applications in the fields of optoelectronics and self-powered devices, as well as the development of direct solar energy storage solutions.
• Hilmar del Carmen Guzmán Medina, who received his doctorate from the Polytechnic Department of Turin, is interested in the conversion of carbon dioxide into products such as ethanol and methanol through electrochemical reduction; has implemented scalable and repeatable electrodes that work especially in ambient conditions. This process is compatible with existing energy infrastructure and could lead to a faster transition to a low-carbon economy.

for section Eni Innovation Recognition, In the competition where the most innovative projects developed by Eni researchers and technical experts were selected, the following awards were awarded:

• Aldo Bosetti, Carmen Samà (Eni), Luca Madia, Massimo Zampato (Enirogetti) for patenting a “shell and tube” configuration reactor for oxidation-reduction processes at high temperatures to be combined, for example, with concentrated solar systems;
• Antonio Amico, Giulio Assanelli, Lucia Bonoldi, Marcello Notari, Riccardo Po’, Luca Serbolisca (Eni) for the innovative technological solution of a coating composed of graphite particles with multiple properties (antimicrobial, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-corrosion and anti-fouling);
• Francesco Argento, Andrea Vignali (Eni), Mauro Favaretto (Enirogetti) for the technological solution of a drone for monitoring methane emissions in oil and gas installations, which is ATEX certified, i.e. capable of operating in explosion-risk environments.

The Special Mention “Eni Joule in Entrepreneurship” was also awarded to three startups that particularly stood out in terms of the innovation and sustainability of the proposed entrepreneurial projects:

• RECO2, a startup from Pontecorvo (Frosinone), has patented an efficient circular economy process for the production of a wide range of products useful for sustainable construction and street furniture through the reuse of industrial waste materials.
• Ohoskin, a startup from Catania, is a startup that creates and patents an alternative fabric to animal skin for use in the fashion, automotive and furniture sectors, produced from orange waste and prickly pear blades, with its entire production chain in Italy.
• 20energy is a Spoleto startup that develops, manufactures and markets a smart device that converts the kinetic energy spent by slowing down cars into electrical energy that can be used on site or distributed to the grid.