Paolo Colbertaldo teaches at the Erasmus+ BIP Programme on Renewable Energy at Universidad de Granada
The researcher from the Department of Energy took part in the Blended Intensive Programme “Challenges of Renewable Energies in the 21st Century”, an international initiative dedicated to the energy transition through lectures and design workshops.
From April 20 to 24, 2026, Paolo Colbertaldo, researcher at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano, participated as a lecturer in the Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme “Challenges of Renewable Energies in the 21st Century”, hosted by the School of Civil Engineering of Universidad de Granada.
The initiative involved five European universities: Universidad de Granada, Czech Technical University, Politecnico di Milano, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and CESI School of Engineering.
The programme focused on the main technological and engineering challenges related to the development of renewable energy sources for the energy transition, with the aim of providing students with a technical and systemic understanding of energy technologies while comparing the conditions and approaches adopted in different countries.
Blended Intensive Programmes combine a period of online activities with an intensive in-person week. In the case of the Granada BIP, before the mobility period students worked on a case study concerning renewable energy plants in their own countries, which they later presented to lecturers and fellow students. The in-person programme alternated thematic lectures, group workshops, student presentations, and a technical visit to a 60 MWp photovoltaic plant in Antequera (Málaga).
The workshop series focused on the preliminary design of a multi-MW photovoltaic plant, including analyses related to component selection, electrical configuration, plant layout, and energy yield estimation.
During the programme, Paolo Colbertaldo delivered the lecture “Renewable Energy in Italy”, dedicated to current and future Italian energy scenarios, with particular attention to the penetration of renewable energy sources, infrastructural challenges, the development of energy storage systems, and the role of hydrogen and renewable fuels in supporting sector coupling within integrated energy systems.
Around twenty university students from the partner institutions took part in the initiative, including two students from Politecnico di Milano.
The programme provided an international collaborative learning environment, encouraging comparison among national energy systems and fostering the development of technical, design, and interdisciplinary skills needed to address the challenges of the energy transition.
“The BIP programme Challenges of Renewable Energies in the 21st Century represented a valuable opportunity to compare the state of the art, approaches, and strategies related to the energy transition across Europe. In my lecture, I aimed to provide students with an overview of the Italian case, highlighting not only the growing role of renewable energy sources, but also the technical and regulatory challenges associated with their integration, with a view toward the development of infrastructures and storage solutions operating in synergy with innovative energy carriers.”
