A partnership to share knowledge, experience and best practices to promote the transition of Rome Fiumicino and Ciampino airports into energy smart hubs, thanks to the adoption of state-of-the-art technologies and processes of innovation and sustainability: this is the focus of the Memorandum of Understanding between Terna, the operator of the Italian national high-voltage transmission grid with approximately 75,000 km of power lines, and Aeroporti di Roma (AdR), which manages the two airports that serve the Italian capital city.

The agreement, signed by Terna CEO, Stefano Donnarumma, and AdR CEO, Marco Troncone, marks an important step towards the energy transition of Italy’s first airport system.

“In line with our role of director and enabler of the energy transition, with this agreement we are bringing Terna’s experience and know-how to the Country’s main airport system through highly innovative and sustainable energy solutions and technologies”, said the CEO of Terna, Stefano Donnarumma. “Innovation is one of the pillars of our 2021-2025 Industrial Plan, to which we have allocated investments of € 1.2 billion. We believe that through the development of innovative and smart solutions and their application to sustainable business models, we will be able to facilitate the transition in an increasingly tangible and rapid way”.

“The agreement signed today follows several other collaborations established with leading industrial entities in Italy to contribute to the environmental and digital transition of Rome’s airport system: as such, it is yet another step that highlights the commitment to accelerate the use of new technologies and enable the smart and sustainable growth of our airports, and to transform innovation and technology into economic and social tools for the Country”, declared the CEO of ADR, Marco Troncone. “We believe that by catalysing the contribution of Italy’s top businesses with a systems-oriented logic, it will be possible to support the evolution and development of a strategic sector for Italy, in the context of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda”.

Under the terms of the Memorandum, which has a duration of two years, Terna and Aeroporti di Roma undertake to create opportunities for dialogue and discussion on projects, knowledge and guidelines which may spark joint innovation and sustainability activities in four key fields - electric mobility, energy management systems, energy efficiency and the maintenance of the electricity infrastructure at Rome’s two airports - using open innovation as a strategic lever to serve the national system.

Terna will offer its experience as an enabler and director of the energy transition, proposing the use of innovative solutions and technologies in the areas of collaboration and contributing to the optimisation of energy-related airport processes.

The operator of Italy’s national transmission grid is currently involved in 70 digitalisation and innovation projects - 70% of which are dedicated to its core business, the maintenance of the national grid and dispatching services - including through the use of robots, drones, virtual reality and augmented reality. The Plan also identified four technology clusters around which the new initiatives and projects will be focused: Digital (intelligent solutions for the energy and capacity management); Energy Tech (innovative solutions using more efficient, greener technologies); Advanced Materials (research and development resulting in eco-compatible materials to reduce the environmental impact); and Robotics (process automation).

Aeroporti di Roma has a long-standing commitment to innovation and sustainability, with a development plan supported by investments of € 10 billion to promote the use of digital technologies and enable the smart and sustainable growth of Rome's two airports. In this context, the airport management company has set itself the ambitious target of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030, at least 20 years earlier than the international targets set for the sector, and to progressively reduce emissions associated with the airports’ operation. The recent installation of the first ultra-fast e-vehicle charging station at Fiumicino, powered entirely by renewable sources, marks the first step in a major programme to install over 5,400 charging stations by 2031. Also in the mobility sector, ADR is working to consolidate the role of Leonardo da Vinci airport as a smart hub; in line with the national and European strategy on intermodality, it is promoting greater integration between rail and air travel which will soon able passengers to check in for their flight and drop off their luggage at the main railway stations connected to Fiumicino airport.