Italy can play a strategic role in energy transitionthanks also to specific skills developed in this field. Silvia Bodoardoprofessor at the Polytechnic of Turin, one of the leading Italian experts on batteries, is particularly convinced of this and in fact encourages our country to undertake this path with enthusiasm. After all, she explains, “the road is clearly marked” globally. And this challenge cannot be lost.
Professor Bodoardo, where is the energy transition at?
“It depends. In Northern Europe the transition has already been implemented or is very advanced, here instead we still have a lot of resistance even though it is an existing and consolidated reality. In particular, at trade fairs you discover that already today there are a sea of possibilities to implement this path. The goal of decarbonization is now global and the path of electrification is favored for a question of efficiency. First of all, electric does not produce CO2, so in highly urbanized centers it solves a series of problems related to the current concentration of pollutants, and then it does not waste energy. In the automotive sector, if I use a combustion vehicle, 80% of the energy is wasted as heat and 20% is used for traction. On the contrary, electric uses 80% of the energy at the wheel. We will not lose jobs by following electric, but if we do not open up to this possibility”.
Are the end of internal combustion engines in 2035 and climate neutrality in 2050 really achievable goals in this timeframe?
“Until a few years ago we were wondering if the internet would really take off; now we are immersed, thanks also to the huge development of the battery sector in a short time. The same thing is happening in the energy sector and the transition is taking place in leaps and bounds, for those who welcome it. Whether we will all get there by 2050 will depend on the acceptance we will have of this process. Some countries will get there first, others maybe later but the path is clearly marked”.
What are the most promising technologies?
“The most developed technology is that of electrochemical storage and therefore batteries. We already have a lot of storage and this is a completely recyclable system: if I buy a battery from China, I also buy all the materials it contains. If I recycle them and make them available again in Europe, I already have them here. If we are still a bit behind in recycling it is because we do not have enough exhausted batteries. Furthermore, vehicle batteries are also lasting longer than expected, unlike what many expected. Often cars are changed before their battery pack”.
How crucial will our ability to supply critical raw materials be from a strategic perspective?
“This issue concerns consumer electronics above all, because we use critical materials such as cobalt, for example, in all cell phone or computer batteries. In automotive batteries, however, the amount of cobalt is decreasing dramatically or even absent, because many companies are switching to lithium-iron-phosphate. They do this for various reasons: because they are eco-friendly, because this material costs much less and is also very safe.”
Does Italy have the know-how to aspire to lead the transition in the future?
“We are very well placed in research at a European and global level. Our leadership in research and training is already quite consolidated. The world of batteries is extremely multidisciplinary: it requires chemists, electrical and electronic engineers, mechanics, economists. And everyone must speak the same language. We are world leaders in the production of machinery and cells. Our companies in the sector sell all over the world to large tech companies and we are also very strong in the recycling of materials.
In the construction sector, which is also affected by the transition, we are equally very good: in Italy, we have a lot to do in construction but we also have the know-how to do it. Italian architecture and civil engineering are at the forefront in the world. There is a lot of space, we need to know how to exploit it”.