Rome, April 22, 2022 – From smart grids to electric system management technologies, from distributed generation to infrastructure maintenance, the scope of the research agreement signed at Sapienza University of Rome by E-Distribuzione CEO Vincenzo Ranieri and EnSiEL Director Domenico Villacci is broad. This agreement aims to leverage the respective expertise of both organizations in order to develop studies and scientific activities on electric energy systems and markets, while also training future industry leaders.
“The signing of today’s agreement,” commented Vincenzo Ranieri, CEO of E-Distribuzione, “is another step forward in E-Distribuzione’s journey towards the creation of a more advanced network, capable of addressing the ongoing energy transition challenges efficiently and sustainably. Working alongside a specialized organization like EnSiEL will enable us to conduct high-value scientific studies and research projects in a partnership that, in line with our company’s mission, uses technological innovation as a tool to create value for the country.”
Domenico Villacci, Director of EnSiEL, said: “This is certainly a very important event for Italian research in the field of electric energy and, I would venture to say, for the country as a whole. It formally and programmatically establishes a scientific collaboration on a national scale between the largest Italian company in the distribution and measurement of electric energy, serving over 31 million customers, and the national interuniversity consortium specializing in studies and research in the field of Electric Energy Systems.”
The agreement enables the pooling of resources and specialized expertise in a partnership that will contribute, through innovative studies and research projects, to the challenges that E-Distribuzione and Italian research will face concerning European and national policies for a sustainable and resilient Energy Transition. The agreement will also allow for better leveraging of European opportunities, such as the new EU Research Framework Program, Horizon Europe.”
Specifically, the agreement focuses on research activities in numerous areas: in addition to smart grids, distributed generation, and electric system maintenance, joint studies are planned on innovative methodologies for managing electric infrastructure, techniques to improve the quality of electricity supply, energy storage systems, distribution network resilience, and power quality in distribution grids.
Alongside scientific analyses in high-tech areas (such as new-generation transducers in smart grids and calculation methodologies for electric network performance indicators), the agreement also places particular emphasis on workplace safety and landscape protection: on one hand, in-depth studies are planned on equipment compliance and personal protective equipment (PPE), and on the other, innovative solutions for preventing environmental risks associated with electric infrastructure management and CO2 calculation methodologies.
The agreement formalizes a collaboration that has been active for several years. Of particular importance is the scientific support EnSiEL has provided for the Edge project that E-Distribuzione launched, at the request of ARERA, to test the end-to-end process of acquiring flexibility services from distributed energy resources to manage the distribution system in four Italian provinces starting this year.
