Research, innovation and international exchange: high turnout at two events organised by the Department of Energy on 19 June at EN:lab
On 19 June, the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano organised two major events at the EN:lab building, which were very well attended and attracted considerable interest from the academic and industrial worlds. The day featured a series of high-level presentations, interdisciplinary discussions and the sharing of experiences on strategic issues for the energy transition.
Sustainable Fuels (bio-fuels & e-fuels) for CO₂ Neutral Internal Combustion Engines
Over 100 people took part in the meeting dedicated to sustainable fuels, during which university professors and representatives of major industrial companies discussed the potential of a technologically neutral approach to the defossilisation of the transport sector.
After the opening remarks by the Director of the Department of Energy, the event featured a series of scientific presentations focusing on the synthesis, efficiency and environmental impact of biofuels and e-fuels, followed by keynote lectures by André Casal Kulzer (University of Stuttgart) and Hiroya Ueda (HySE/Honda).
The final round table, moderated by science journalist Giovanni Caprara (Corriere della Sera), involved representatives from companies, institutions and the press, such as Ferrari, Enilive, Quattroruote, FPT Industrial, SARAS, Dumarey, Cluster Lombardo Mobilità and Fondazione Politecnico – Hydrogen-JRP, giving rise to a rich and detailed discussion on the future of internal combustion engines powered by sustainable fuels.
Technology of Free Piston Linear Generators: opportunity and challenges for research and industrialization
In the afternoon, a workshop dedicated to free-piston linear generator technology was held, attended by over 50 people. Researchers and lecturers from various Italian universities and research centres – including Politecnico di Milano, Politecnico di Torino, Università del Sannio and CNR-STEMS – presented projects and results in the field of free-piston systems, highlighting their potential and the challenges still to be addressed for full industrialisation.
The final session, in the form of an open discussion, brought together representatives from academia and industry with the aim of outlining the future prospects of a technology that could contribute significantly to distributed generation and sustainable mobility.
Some of the presentations are available for download:
