Rome, June 3rd, 2025 - An innovative storage system that accumulates renewable energy to be used even when the sun is not out, and above all leverages used electric vehicle batteries giving them a second life, as a tangible application of the principles of circular economy and environmental sustainability. The Pioneer project (airPort sustaInability secONd lifE battEry stoRage), carried out by Enel and ADR (Aeroporti di Roma) with the scientific contribution of the German research institute Fraunhofer at Rome's Fiumicino International Airport, is the largest energy storage system using hybrid second-life batteries in Italy, and one of the largest in Europe. It is also the only example of integration of heterogeneous batteries from three different car manufacturers (Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis). Loccioni, a benchmark system integrator in the energy and automotive worlds, has transformed 762 battery packs and modules that can no longer be used in powertrains into a 10-MWh BESS (Battery Energy Storage System). The system is fully integrated with “Solar Farm”, the largest self-consumption photovoltaic system in a European airport, designed by Aeroporti di Roma, built by Enel in conjunction with Circet and commissioned in January 2025.

The Pioneer launch event at Fiumicino was attended by Italy’s Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso, Mayor of Fiumicino Mario Baccini, Head of Enel X Global Retail Francesca Gostinelli, Head of Innovation at Enel Nicola Rossi, Chairman of ADR Vincenzo Nunziata, CEO of ADR Marco Troncone, Chief Aviation Officer at ADR Ivan Bassato, Chairman of Loccioni Enrico Loccioni, Enac Central Director for Economic Programming and Infrastructure Development Claudio Eminente and Project Advisor-Innovation Fund at CINEA Annachiara Vercellin.

“Pioneer is the first project of its kind in Italy: a multifunctional energy platform serving Fiumicino airport that, by combining decarbonization, energy autonomy and competitiveness, represents an advanced model for the energy and digital transition,”stated Adolfo Urso, Italy’s Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy.
“This is an initiative that integrates circular economy and digitalization through an innovative system for reusing spent electric vehicle batteries and generating energy to support national competitiveness.
Projects like this demonstrate how Italy is able to combine environmental sustainability and production competitiveness: a crucial challenge for the future of Italy and Europe.”

“The Pioneer project shows that innovation is the primary enabler of the energy transition: it accelerates electrification on a large scale thanks to a circular economy model that gives a new life to spent batteries,” stated Francesca Gostinelli, Head of Enel X Global Retail at Enel. “At the launch of this cutting-edge project, which actively contributes to decarbonization while offering tangible support to the stability of the electricity grid, we are particularly proud to emphasize the fact that it is the result of a partnership that has pooled the expertise and know-how of mainly Italian companies - the ingenuity of Made in Italy put at the service of technological progress, national innovation that supports the sustainability  and the advancement of the country’.”

“The Pioneer project represents a concrete example of our strategy, because it brings together our strong commitment to environmental sustainability, the ability to enhance technological innovation and the determination to effectively work as a system with the country’s excellences, such as Enel,” said Marco Troncone, CEO of Aeroporti di Roma. “This new project will be integrated synergistically with the recently inaugurated Solar Farm, within the ESG strategy supported by the parent company Mundys, and which positions the starred Fiumicino airport, a hub for passengers and goods, also as a platform for energy efficiency and independence. We are therefore consolidating our path towards decarbonization and energy autonomy of our airports, with the aim of reaching NetZero by 2030.”

Innovation, sustainability and European excellence are the hallmarks of the Pioneer project. Storage systems are now essential for the energy transition, and the system created by Enel and ADR accelerates the decarbonization process of the “Leonardo da Vinci” airport, which was recently included in the top 10 best airports in the world by Skytrax. The system gives new life to batteries that are now unusable in the automotive field but remain highly valuable for stationary applications. The result is a project on an industrial scale that stores the green energy produced then releases it when needed. Innovation at the cutting edge and sustainability mutually reinforce one another, further facilitating the airport’s decarbonization, as Pioneer will enable the abatement of 16,000 tons of CO2 over ten years. A virtuous and innovative model of circular economy also acknowledged at the European level, which saw the Pioneer project selected among the winners of the Innovation Fund SSC-2020 call promoted by the European Agency for Climate, Environment and Infrastructure (CINEA).