Rome, September 25th, 2012 - The Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Enel, Fulvio Conti, and the President of the Italian National Research Council (CNR), Luigi Nicolais, signed a framework agreement today for the promotion of joint initiatives in research and innovation. The collaborative effort will focus on issues of common interest relating to the use of primary resources as well as the generation and distribution of electricity to end users, in order to promote the efficient use of electricity.
The collaborative activities provided for under the Enel-CNR agreement envisage: the identification of developments in technology scenarios, the analysis of that evolution, the specification of joint research priorities and the promotion of a culture of energy around the country.
A Management Committee composed of six members will be established. The committee will be in charge of identifying research areas, lines of implementation and the specific issues to be investigated, with the aim of optimizing the expected results and financial resources available at the national, EU and international level.
Fulvio Conti, CEO and General Manager of Enel, stated: "Technological innovation is a key growth factor in our industry. This agreement strengthens our long-standing relationship with the CNR as well as merging our shared experience even further to help raise the countrys technological profile as well as that of our business segment. Enel has long been committed to developing innovative products and systems to produce, distribute and deliver energy efficiently and sustainably. Todays agreement confirms that the study of technologically advanced solutions is of key importance for the Group."
"This framework agreement between Italys largest public research body and the largest power company in the country, and one of the leading listed utilities in Europe, stated CNR President Luigi Nicolais, lends substance to our commitment to foster the dissemination and enhancement of research through direct collaboration with the industrial sector. The use of primary resources as well as the generation and distribution of electricity and thermal energy, the efficient and environmentally sustainable electricity use the focal points of the agreement are issues of absolute strategic importance for the country. We expect to develop other themes as we move forward with our collaborative effort."
In addition to the resources of the National Research Council, the research activities envisaged under the agreement will involve the subsidiaries of the Enel Group working at the forefront of research and innovation in the countries in which Enel operates. Opportunities for collaboration include applied research on fuels and combustion systems, treatment of emissions and waste, generation, diagnostics and automation. Other areas of interest include storage systems for renewable energy, solutions for the development of electric mobility, and distributed generation, as well as the transformation of passive distribution networks into smart grids.
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