Energy and sustainability at the core of the meeting between Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and PoliTO
The projects on the development of sustainable energy technologies have been the focus of the meeting between the French delegation from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region (AuRA) and Politecnico faculty, led by Vice Rector for International Affairs Alberto Sapora and Professor Gianmario Pellegrino, Adjunct Vice Rector for Technology Transfer, and composed of Professor Laura Fabris from the Department of Applied Science and Technology-DISAT, Professor Domenico Ferrero from the Department of Energy “Galileo Ferraris”-DENERG, and Professor Daniele Ganora from the Department of Environmental, Land and Infrastructure Engineering-DIATI.
On April 9, PoliTO faculty met with Pierre Oliver, Regional Councillor for European Funds, Alizée Allemand, Policy Officer-President’s Cabinet, Pierre Gondard, Head of International Affairs – Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Entreprises Agency, Olivier Bagarri, Head of the Joint Secretariat of the ALCOTRA France–Italy Programme, and also a journalist from the French local newspaper Dauphiné Libéré Stéphane Pulze.
At the heart of the meeting was the French delegation's need to learn more about the PoliTO activities in strategic sectors such as energy - particularly hydrogen - and sustainability, delving into the implications of the activities already underway within the projects funded under the European Interreg ALCOTRA program between France and Italy.
In this regard, Professor Ganora presented, as principal investigator, the ALCOTRA project “BECCA - Ecologically sustainable and safe basins designed for adaptation to ClimAte Change” designed to study solutions to the problem of drought in the Alpine regions through the design of reservoirs in mountainous territories, with particular attention to the impact of these structures on the environment and local populations.
Professor Ferrero spoke about developments in the Horizon Europe project (HORIZON-JTI-CLEANH2-2023) “IMAGHYNE: Investment To Maximize The Ambition For Green Hydrogen In Europe” which is coordinated by the AuRA Region itself and aims to pave the way for a large-scale renewable hydrogen economy, integrating seamlessly into the region's energy system while addressing emissions from highly polluting sectors. Specifically, the project involves the installation of 57 MW of electrolysis capacity and innovative hydrogen supply chains to address emissions while meeting the sector's high demand.
Also on hydrogen research, Professor Fabris presented the project “StarLIGH2T: Green hydrogen from water through a new approach to photocatalysis” with which she is developing an advanced nanoparticle photocatalytic technology for the production of green hydrogen from water at room temperature. This is an innovative approach that not only promises to simplify the hydrogen production process, but also opens up new prospects for clean and sustainable energy by making photocatalysis an industrially competitive process through the exploitation of 90 percent of the solar spectrum.