Eni has published the names of the winning researchers and scientists of the eleventh edition of the Eni Award, the award established in 2007 and which over the years has become an international point of reference for research in the fields of energy and the environment with the 'objective "to promote better use of energy sources - says the group in giving the news of the designations - and to stimulate the new generations of researchers in their work".
The award Energy transition, one of the three main awards and which rewards the best innovations in the hydrocarbon sector for the decarbonisation of the energy system, was awarded to Omar M. Yaghi of the University of Berkley, California, one of the most brilliant scientists working in the research on new generation crystalline-porous solids, and on their application in the selective separation of CO2 from combustion gases as well as in the capture of atmospheric humidity, an application that is particularly interesting if carried out in desert areas.
The award Frontiers of energy, for research on renewable energy sources and energy storage, was awarded to Zhong Lin Wang of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta (USA). Wang has developed a new family of devices, the "triboelectric nanogenerators", capable of converting mechanical energy into electrical energy at high yields from various types of movement, with applications on various scales, from macroscopic (for example: sea waves) to microscopic (body movements, muscle contractions, blood flow), opening vast fields of application to energy recovery.
Finally, the prize The prize Advanced Environmental Solutions, dedicated to research on the protection of air, water and earth and on the reclamation of industrial sites, has been assigned to Sang Yup Lee of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon, South Korea.
Sang Yup Lee is eworld leader in the development of microbial biological processes for the sustainable and low environmental impact production of chemicals, fuels and non-food biomass materials, using engineered bacteria.
For the section Young Talents from Africa, established in 2017 on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Eni Award and dedicated to young talents from the African continent, the award was assigned to Emerance Jessica Claire D'Assise Goma-Tchimbakala of the Marien NGouabi University of Brazzaville in Congo e Elvis Tinashe Ganda, Zimbabwean, student at Durban University of Technology (South Africa).
Goma Tchimbakala's proposal concerns the role of microorganisms and substances synthesized during their metabolism for the reclamation of the environment. Furthermore, the biosurfactants produced by the bacteria could be produced on a large scale, which could open a new industrial era in the Congo, thanks to their exploitation also as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Ganda's research work is in turn particularly important in the transition to forms of renewable energy for the transport sector. The alternative fuels available from renewable carbon sources in the form of biomass studied by the researcher also represent an opportunity to reduce the environmental impact associated with the transport of people and goods.
For the prize Young Researcher of the Year, which every year rewards two under 30 researchers who have achieved the research doctorate in Italian universities, the awards have been assigned to Michele De Bastiani e Gianluca Longoni. The first, a student of the University of Padua - Italian Institute of Technology, presented a thesis on the study of the mechanisms that determine the stability of two of the emerging photovoltaic technologies: organic photovoltaics and perovskite-based cells, and on the development of possible solutions, while the second, coming from the University of Milan Bicocca, was awarded for a thesis on the development of innovative electrodes for sodium ion-based batteries, which constitute an alternative and safer electric "storage" technology than based on lithium ions.
The awards ceremony will take place at the Palazzo del Quirinale on 22 October in the presence of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella.
