Host Institution
ENEA
ENEA is the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development. ENEA performs research activities and provides agency services in support to public administrations, public and private enterprises, and citizens. ENEA scientific research and technological development are carried on at its 9 Research Centres and 5 Laboratories, endowed with a wide range of expertise, advanced facilities and instruments put at the disposal of both the ENEA research programmes and the Nation's scientific and entrepreneurial communities. The Casaccia Research Centre is the biggest ENEA’s Research Center, covers an area of about 90 hectares and is characterized by its complex of laboratories, pilot plants and demonstration plants, its broad spectrum of expertise and advanced infrastructures (plants and instrumental facilities) operating in the fields of new technologies, energy and sustainable economic development.
Technical Unit for Sustainable Development and Agro-industrial innovation (UTAGRI)
One of ENEA’s important objectives is to operate for the development and innovation of the national agro-industrial production system. The aim is to obtain food products using competitive, sustainable, and energy-efficient processes. The focus is on the made-in-Italy agro-food, applying cross-disciplinary skills to the productive chain, and employing advanced facilities, technology platforms, and related service structures. UTAGRI coordinates activities related to the development of the agro-industrial system at the Casaccia Research Centre, and defines the lines of research and technology transfer with the other ENEA’s Research Centers. Activities include basic research to advance the knowledge and the development and transfer of multi-sectoral enabling technologies aimed at strengthening industrial research. Methodologies, services, and systemic approaches are promoted in order to support innovation and competitiveness of enterprises in specific local contexts. Furthermore, ENEA-UTAGRI carries out public-private initiatives through consortia and spin-offs. The UTAGRI activities are characterized by the multi-sectoral approach on agriculture, the environment and industry and the multidisciplinary approach on technological innovation, environmental sustainability and energy efficiency. This approach allows to combine the promotion of industrial development and competitiveness of food production with sustainable management of agro-ecosystems and actions in support of consumer’s health and safety. The UTAGRI activities are concentrated in the different stages of the integrated agroindustrial supply chain: production, rotection, processing, diagnostics, packaging, storage, logistics and consumption.
Among these activities, an important role is played by the strategic activities on Metrology applied to chemical and biological measurements. ENEA has carried out, at national level, pioneer activities in Metrology for Chemical Analysis and since the ‘70s has been participating in international activities on Reference Materials and Methods. By means of Italy and EU-funded Research Projects, ENEA has developed real plants for the RM production, located in the Casaccia (near Rome) and Trisaia (in South Italy) Research Centres. Specifically designed for the preparation of Matrix-RMs of natural origin (environmental and agro-food RMs), these plants permit to prepare RMs in different physical-chemical forms (lyophilized, liquids and dry powders) and to obtain innovative RMs (Double Phase-RM, Single Use-RMs, Multipurpose-RMs).