Zero Carbon Community

In 2023, The European House - Ambrosetti launched the Zero Carbon Community, a multi-stakeholder platform that brings together companies interested in the realization of projects related to the decarbonisation process. 

During the first edition, the activities focused on the role of hydrogen in the decarbonisation process and on key actions to facilitate the implementation of concrete initiatives and the deployment of the dedicated supply chain (Hydrogen Community).

In 2024, the Community will cover additional application contexts and different technological solutions that can contribute to the decarbonisation process, based on the principle of technological neutrality, where the available solutions are exploited synergistically in the different application areas and in the different time scales. 

The Mission 

Facilitating a dialogue and knowledge exchange among the players of decarbonisation to boost the development and implementation of wide-ranging projects in the fields of application, in the sectors and/or in the territories where the Partners are operating; involving central and local public stakeholders, companies that develop related technologies, and stakeholders interested in investing in ambitious decarbonisation projects.

The promotion of the principle of technological neutrality, and the implementation of concrete projects of decarbonisation, not only aims to achieve the objectives of carbon neutrality, but also to generate development and growth opportunities for Italy, as well as for the territories and our Partners' key industrial sectors.

Second edition

Presentation of the results: decarbonisation and competitiveness. A development vision for the Syracuse Industrial Complex

Syracuse, February 2025

Throughout 2024, TEHA developed a collaboration with Confindustria Syracuse and seven companies of the Syracuse Industrial Cluster (Air Liquide, B2G Sicily, Buzzi Unicem, ISAB, Sasol, Sonatrach and Versalis), which brought to a Strategic Study outlining the development vision for the Cluster and the necessary investments that the companies intend to undertake. The objective is to position Italy and the Pole as a leading centre for sustainable industrial production, capable not only of maintaining current employment levels, but also of qualifying as a driver of sustainability for industrial value chains. The study will be presented during a Forum, which will also be an opportunity to discuss strategies to meet the challenges of competitiveness through targeted investments and greater integration in terms of production, territorial, and infrastructural synergies.

For further information: hub.innotech@ambrosetti.eu

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

Zero Carbon Community: the state of the art of hydrogen in Italy

Povo (TN), 26 March 2024

Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) has allocated over 3 billion Euros to promote the production, distribution and use of hydrogen, considered a key component for the energy transition process. Many of these funds were allocated during 2023, raising awareness of the need for a national strategy that combines decarbonisation objectives with a clear vision of industrial development around this technology. With the aim of supporting the activities of the "Technical Working Group for the definition of a national hydrogen strategy" established in January 2024 by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, the Partners of the Zero Carbon Community of The European House - Ambrosetti met in Trento in March 2024 with various public and private stakeholders in order to stimulate a debate about the critical factors of success for the creation of a national hydrogen supply chain. During the meeting, the data and policy proposals produced during the first year of activity of the Zero Carbon Community were presented to the audience, along with the objectives, topics and stages of the 2024 edition. The meeting was also an opportunity to discuss strategies aimed at fostering industrial initiatives on the development of the hydrogen valley, with a focus on the opportunities offered to companies by the ecosystem of the Autonomous Province of Trento.

PHYGITAL MEETING - Guiding principles for the development of the biogas and biomethane supply chain: an alternative development vision for Italy and for the competitiveness of agricultural and industrial supply chains in Italy

Rome, September 20, 2024

The meeting was an opportunity to launch a thematic vertical dedicated to biogas and biomethane, aimed at stimulating a proactive dialogue among those involved in various capacities in the development of the supply chain in Italy.

Actively involving the agricultural sector in the development of this supply chain makes it possible to combine sustainable growth and safeguarding biogas and biomethane production in Italy, minimising negative externalities through clean and efficient technologies. These are among the key decarbonisation levers that may preserve the competitiveness of the country's hard-to-abate sectors, which are engaged in a major energy transition process.

‘In the current biogas and biomethane scenario, there is a clear need to match opportunities to create a more sustainable environment among stakeholders, maximising benefits for both producers and consumers. The key is the efficiency and commitment of the entire supply chain,’ commented Danilo Serioli, Country Lead Italy of Bloom Energy. 'This is exactly the result of the event so well organised by the Zero Carbon Community, of which Bloom Energy is proud to be a part. Bloom Energy is pleased to contribute with its first-in-class fuel cell technology to the goal of decarbonising the Italian energy sector, for which biogas and biomethane must play the game for a more sustainable and economically viable future’.

Our expertise in decarbonisation

At The European House - Ambrosetti, we have been studying the topic of decarbonisation since 2019, starting from a Study in collaboration with Snam that proposed the first national industrial strategy on hydrogen ("H2 Italy 2050 - A national hydrogen supply chain for the growth and decarbonisation of Italy"). In 2022, instead, we created a Study for Eni ("Proposal for a Zero Carbon technology roadmap") aimed at promoting the principle of technological neutrality, where hydrogen is one of the key technologies for decarbonisation.

Organisations and companies e aziende engaged with the Community

We have involved over 14 local, central and international institutions to discuss the strategy and regulation needed to foster the development of the hydrogen supply chain and 17 universities, research centres and associations to highlight progress in research and development of more efficient and economically viable technologies for the production, distribution and use of hydrogen.

Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti, Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Sicurezza energetica, Consip, ANCI, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (UK), Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (UK), ZES Sicilia, Autorità di Sistema Portuale del Mare di Sicilia Orientale, Regione Sicilia, Regione Liguria, Regione Autonoma della Sardegna, Regione Autonoma del Friuli Venezia Giulia, Provincia Autonoma di Trento, Provincia di Mantova

ENEA, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, EU Core, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Fondazione Enrico Mattei, Hydrogen Europe, H2IT, Vätgas Sverige, Federchimica Confindustria, Istituto per Innovazioni Tecnologiche bi Bolzano (IIT), H2U, Clust-ER Greentech, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Università degli Studi di Catania, Università degli Studi di Trento

In addition, we involved 88 companies from the fields of energy (32 companies), industry (37 companies) and transport (19 companies) to highlight opportunities related to the development of the hydrogen supply chain in synergy.