The Eni Awards ceremony was held on October 16th at Palazzo del Quirinale in the presence of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, Eni’s Chairman of the Board of Directors Giuseppe Zafarana and Eni’s CEO Claudio Descalzi.
Now in its fifteenth year, the prize is considered an international benchmark for research in energy and environment. It is testament to the importance of scientific research and innovation and Eni’s commitment to foster sustainability and energy access, in accordance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Over 11,000 applications were made since the Awards’ inception in 2008. The Scientific Committee, which assesses the submissions, is made up of scientists from top global research institutions and has included 6 Nobel laureates over the years.
Moreover, through Joule, Eni’s Business School, the firm has awarded the Eni Joule for Entrepreneurship special mention. This is meant for teams, university spin-offs, and start-ups focused on the application, enhancement and transfer of technologies aimed at creating a sustainable innovation ecosystem.
In the 2023 edition of the Eni Awards:
- The Energy Transition Award, dedicated to research on energy efficiency as well as carbon capture, utilization and storage, was given ex aequo to Yu Huang, from the University of California (Los Angeles, USA), for research on affordable, sustainable hydrogen fuel cells for transport decarbonization, and Jeffrey R. Long, from the University of California (Berkeley, USA), for research on cooperative adsorption in MOF materials for gas capture.
- The Energy Frontiers Award for research on renewable energy sources and energy storage has been given to Matthew Rosseinsky, from the University of Liverpool (UK) for his work on digital techniques for the design and discovery of next generation energy materials.
- The Advanced Environmental Solutions Award, given for enhancing scientific and technological innovation for the protection and sustainable use of natural resources, was awarded to Thalappil Pradeep, from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (India), for his research on water purification technologies using advanced materials.
- The Young Talents from Africa category, established in 2017 on the 10th anniversary of Eni Award and dedicated to young talent from the African Continent, awarded four prizes this year. The honorees are Gloria Amo-Duodu, from Durban University of Technology (South Africa), Elshaday Mulu Fetene, from Moi University (Kenya), Tsion Ayalew Kebede, from Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia), and Natnael Tilahun Sinshaw, from Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (Ethiopia). They will each receive a 3-year PhD scholarship to continue their studies in Italy.
- For the Young Researcher of the Year Award, which honors two students who have completed their PhDs at Italian universities, the prizes were awarded to Michele Ghini and Hilmar del Carmen Guzmán Medina.
- For the Eni Innovation Award, which selects the most innovative projects developed by Eni researchers and experts, prizes were awarded to:
- Aldo Bosetti and Carmen Samà (Eni), Luca Madia and Massimo Zampato (Eniprogetti) for patenting processes for shell & tube reactor and redox at high temperatures;
- Antonio Amico, Giulio Assanelli, Lucia Bonoldi, Marcello Notari, Riccardo Po’ and Luca Serbolisca (Eni) for developing a paint containing Few Layer Graphite liquid dispersions (FLG-LD), which has antimicrobial, antibacterial, antiviral, anticorrosive and anti-fouling applications;
- Francesco Argento and Andrea Vignali (Eni), Mauro Favaretto (Eniprogetti) for developing an ATEX certified drone that can operate in potentially explosive atmospheres, so as to detect methane leaks in oil and gas plants.
The “Eni Joule for Entrepreneurship” special mention was awarded to three start-ups that distinguished themselves for innovation and sustainability across their business projects:
- RECO2, a Pontecorvo (Frosinone)-based startup, has patented a circular economy process for a wide range of useful sustainable building and street furniture applications through the reuse of industrial waste materials.
- Ohoskin, a Catania-based startup, has created and patented an alternative to animal leather for applications in fashion, automotive, and furnishing, produced from orange and prickly pear waste, whose production chain is located entirely in Italy.
- 20energy, a Spoleto-based start-up, has developed, produced and commercialized an intelligent device that converts kinetic energy dissipated by cars when slowing down into electrical energy that can be used on-site or distributed to the grid.
