The agreement was signed at the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE) in Rome by Franco Cotana, CEO of RSE, and Carlo Doglioni, President of INGV.
The short to medium-term research goals of the collaboration will be on the following topics:
Impact of geological methane on total greenhouse gas emissions;
Geochemical characterization of geothermal fluids and geothermal frosts;
Hydrogen storage in geological systems;
Low and medium enthalpy geothermal resources
The long-term goal, however, is for the partnership to update the subsurface temperature maps of Italy to 4000 meters depth.
RSE SpA is a company that focuses on research activities concerning the energy and sustainability chain. It is indirectly controlled by the Ministry of Economy and Finance through its sole shareholder, GSE SpA.
“Italy boasts a long tradition in the geothermal energy sector, demonstrated by the numerous power plants present in Tuscany in particular,” said Doglioni. “The signing of the memorandum of understanding with RSE allows us to make available to the community the scientific knowledge that INGV has acquired over time in this sector full of potential, and to look to the future to invest in renewable resources that can contribute to reduce the environmental impact of human activities.”
Larderello in 1900 (source: Picture by ENEL, archiviostorico.enel.com)
“High, medium and low enthalpy geothermal energy is a sustainable energy source with zero CO2 emissions. In the first case, the high temperatures allow the production of steam and, from it, electrical energy. A model to look at is the Larderello example from over 100 years ago. In other cases, geothermal energy makes it possible to promote district heating or, simply, to increase the thermal energy efficiency of heat pumps up to 6 – 8 times,” added Cotana.
“The protocol will give impetus to research related to the soil and the development of alternative energies, such as geothermal energy, in safety. This will be useful for the work of the Energy Department and for the entire Ministry,” further said by Antonio Scino, Chief of Staff of MASE.
