How the manifesto of the Italian energy communities was born
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A degree in mechanical energy in the structure where he now teaches, specializations in thermodynamics, prestigious positions at national and international level and the firm belief that socio-economic growth can only come from an innovation capable of being transversal to multiple areas of knowledge. Romano Borchiellini, 64 years old, this year at the Polytechnic of Turin he also taught “Energy transition and society”, a course that says a lot about the challenges that thrill him most at the moment. It is with the Energy center lab, the interdepartmental center of which he is coordinator for the Polytechnic, that the group led by Borchiellini is the protagonist of pioneering projects such as the energy communities of Magliano Alpi and the self-consuming condominiums in Pinerolo and 20 other Piedmontese municipalities. The driving force behind these transfers of university knowledge to companies and community initiatives is the ability of the Energy Center to act as a catalyst.
Professor Borchiellini, how did the idea of the Energy Center come about?
“It was a long and complex journey, the result of reflection between different professors within the Polytechnic. We are fortunate to have a strong roots of the university in the area, so it was possible for us to find the economic resources outside to carry out the headquarters of the Center. The place that houses the activities of the multidisciplinary laboratory is a building built with the contribution of the Piedmont Region, the Municipality of Turin and the intervention of banking foundations, which in Turin have an important history and role in the development of the territory. such as the Compagnia di San Paolo foundation and the Cassa di Risparmio di Torino foundation “.
History
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What are the questions that the Center wants to answer?
“When we started our activities in 2017, we mainly asked ourselves some questions. How can we supply our communities with increasingly renewable and safe energy? What are the key energy technologies and infrastructures to be developed or strengthened? And what are the characteristics of the city? of the future to be increasingly sustainable? We started, as mentioned, with professors of the Polytechnic who were interested in developing these issues and who considered institutional dialogue interesting. But what I always say is that the Energy Center is not, or is not only, a research center: I strongly emphasize that it is a building where researchers, companies and public administration physically meet. We knew that to answer our questions we needed contamination between these environments, so much so that over 70% of the building that houses the laboratory is occupied by companies, not by teachers because the people structured in the Politecnico already have an office. There was a need for a work space, where companies could develop their activities by continuously communicating with the transversal skills provided by the center “.
How does this work side by side with companies?
“In the meantime, it must be said that research on the energy and ecological transition branches out in parallel on many strands. For example, one of the areas in which we are most engaged is that of the study of energy storage systems such as batteries, a sector important that requires a transversal vision, which brings together the various researches of various disciplines. As for the collaboration with companies, the collaboration with Edison is emblematic: in a shared laboratory, we develop new technologies for the energy transition. All universities have joint research activities with private subjects, we distinguish ourselves because in the Energy Center we share the dedicated space with companies, with “heavy” laboratory equipment. Thus, while we carry out studies to reproduce the behavior of an electric charging station connected to the city network (simulating exactly consumption, flows and impact on the network depending on the number of columns) we also do experiments legislative minds. Since space is common, we had to think about a single security management method for private and public. Let me be clear, for these things you do not win the Nobel, but they are crucial to face the difficulties of technology transfer “.
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Among the initiatives that had a great impact on the territory was the “Manifesto of energy communities”. How did the idea come about?
“We showed sensitivity to the topic a little earlier than in other realities, precisely because we have a more integrated vision, which does not start from the single technology. For a researcher, CERs in themselves are not particularly interesting, but it is different to grasp their potential within the ecological transition, precisely in a transversal perspective. The idea of drafting the “Manifesto” was born after a meeting between university professors, local administrators and companies. We had discussed the repercussions on the territory, the technological and legislative challenges and we wanted these reflections not to remain a dead letter, to create awareness and actively support the transition process towards a society carbon-free, where renewable energy is the basis of a new paradigm of living. The Manifesto defines precisely that the energy transition process must be declined in different languages (technical, scientific, regulatory, financial, popular), in order to effectively reach the multiplicity of interlocutors “.
The involvement of individuals is one of your strong points, what are your guidelines in this respect?
“Our activity must take into account the public interest, but without blocking the private. An example comes from the CER: we could have been only evaluators who provided an opinion or, and this is the way chosen so far, be the third actor in a project in which we try to advise public and private. I believe our transversal vision is fundamental, because one of the issues that will arise on the CERs will be precisely to establish what their optimal size is so that there is not only the individual citizen who benefits savings on the bill, but what can be the repercussions at the local level and even for the national system. The last aspect is premature, but we must think about it, with our overall vision “.
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From this transversal approach of yours comes the latest successful project, financed by Pnrr funds.
“The Polytechnic of Turin through the Energy Center has won a tender from the Ministry of the University dedicated to the creation or restructuring of technological innovation infrastructures, in which 51% per cent is owned by private individuals. We will be the implementing body of a network of companies and universities in a widespread way in the area, with the idea of putting together the laboratories and the ability to work simultaneously and develop the digital twin of the Italian energy system. This technological infrastructure aims to make an indispensable contribution to the ecological transition for product prototyping and energy policy choices “.
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