PNRR: work at the National Centre for Sustainable Mobility begins
The work of the National Centre for Sustainable Mobility officially commenced with a kick-off on 18 January at the Lingotto site of the Politecnico.
Set up under the impetus of the PNRR, the Centre promotes sustainable and innovative mobility through research activities to study solutions and services for public and private transport. The aim is, on the one hand, to enable the green transition and the achievement of carbon neutrality by 2050, and on the other hand, to create safer, more accessible and inclusive mobility, benefiting the entire supply chain, national competitiveness and international visibility.
Cooperation between universities and stakeholders (research centres and large corporations in the area) will be crucial in facilitating the transition from research to enterprise by listening to the needs of all the actors involved for innovation.
Launched by Guido Saracco, rector of the university, the Turin meeting continued with speeches by Professor Ferruccio Resta of the Politecnico di Milano, president of the MOST Foundation, and Dr Laura Mazzola, administrative coordinator of the project. The two Spokes, i.e., the project’s thematic centres, coordinated by the Politecnico were presented at the event: Spoke 1 Air Mobility and Spoke 2 Sustainable Road Vehicle, coordinated respectively by Professor Giorgio Guglieri and Professor Andrea Tonoli.
“The activities of Spoke 1 Air Mobility – explains Guglieri – involve the coordination of universities and companies to respond, through a joint effort, to some of the challenges for aviation in the future, in terms of sustainability: the development of advanced solutions for air mobility, the definition of new strategies for digital design, the study of hybrid-electric propulsion architectures, and, finally, the identification of new models for managing airports and improving the efficiency of air transport.” Spoke 1 was attended by representatives of the partner universities – Politecnico di Milano, University of Bergamo, University of Bologna, Sapienza University of Rome and Federico II University of Naples – as well as the companies taking part in the PNRR-funded national project as the main stakeholders in the aerospace sector – Leonardo, Poste Italiane, Thales Alenia Space Italia, Avio Aero, Accenture and Teoresi.
“The Spoke 2 Sustainable Road Vehicle aims to study zero-emission vehicle solutions that reduce fuel consumption, increase safety through modular electric powertrain solutions and systems that allow the vehicle to be integrated into the data and energy network – adds Tonoli – Work with industrial partners will also involve innovative solutions for components such as tyres and suspensions, and will lead to the development of two demonstrators: an electric car for urban use and a hydrogen-powered commercial vehicle designed for deliveries.” The Sustainable Road Vehicle Spoke was attended by representatives of the universities involved – University of Bologna, University of Salerno, University of Cassino and Lazio Meridionale, University of Palermo - and the companies in the sector – CRF (Stellantis), IVECO, Pirelli, SNAM, Teoresi.
The objective of the first meeting was achieved: an intensive exchange of views and project suggestions for the development of sustainable mobility, also in the presence of representative guests from the relevant industrial sector, including representatives of the Piedmont Aerospace District and the National Civil Aviation Authority.