Research in fundamental physics needs technological innovations and skills. For this reason ENEA Tech and INFN (National Institute of Nuclear Physics) have signed a new agreement to promote and enhance the skills and technological innovations developed for fundamental physics research and to encourage the transfer of knowledge and development of applications in other sectors.
The Public Research Body INFN and ENEA Tech – private law foundation supervised by the MiSe – will collaborate on the planning and implementation of activities aimed at the analysis, evaluation and enhancement of the skills and technological innovations developed by INFN and deemed of common interest; the promotion of research and development initiatives between the Organization and entrepreneurial realities of interest to ENEA Tech; INFN consultancy and scientific and technological support to ENEA; participation in spin-offs, strategic collaborations in particular in favor of innovative developments with an application content of some of the technologies used by INFN in large Italian and non-Italian scientific infrastructures.
The Institute conducts and coordinates basic research in the field of the fundamental constituents of matter, a key sector of big science, and which over the years has been the protagonist of two Nobel discoveries: thethe Higgs boson and gravitational waves. ENEA Tech, on the other hand, manages the largest Italian fund for technology transfer set up by the Ministry of Economic Development with a budget of 500 million euros.
“ENEA Tech's work to structure significant connections and synergies with the most important Italian research centers is proceeding rapidly – commented Anna Tampieri, President of ENEA Tech - It is necessary to strengthen the innovation network in our country, with the aim of accelerating the processes of technology transfer. In this way it will be possible to exploit the enormous wealth of talent and knowledge that we have and make a decisive contribution to Italy's growth and competitiveness”.
"Fundamental physics research needs advanced technologies that are often not yet part of the know-how and capabilities of industries - he explained Pierluigi Campana, member of the INFN Executive Committee – technologies which therefore require the development of unprecedented solutions in many sectors, from electronics to precision mechanics to calculation and which can lead to useful effects for society in even very distant fields, such as medicine or cultural heritage: a unique impulse for technological innovation that must be encouraged and exploited”.
