Expertise

The strategic mission of ITAE is mainly aimed at promoting and developing innovative energy processes and tecnologies with a higher efficiency and a lower environmental impact which can be used both with fossil fuels (still available today) and with renewable energy sources (expected to become more and more competitive). The scientific skills already acquired within the former Institute of Chemical Methods and Processes for Transformation and Storage of Energy are related to chemical processes and phenomena which make possible to develop electrical power and/or thermal energy and new fuels with a particular reference to hydrogen. More specifically, skills are related to preparation and characterization of catalysts, supports, electrodes, membranes, bed adsorbers and so on, essential components of devices for the realization of power generation, transformation or storage. To these skills, belonging to the chemical core of ITAE, are added design, realization and testing of complete devices which are typical of the engineering component of the Institute also dealing with the design and test of systems and demonstration facilities to be used both in stationary and mobile energy applications. Other skills acquired in the area of modelling strongly support both the system optimization, the component and the device design. Concluding, there are also skills aimed at developing methodologies for the analysis of energy complex systems such as buildings, small areas (referred to Municipalities) or large areas (referred to Regions).
Starting from the study of the synthesis procedures and material properties, the research activity is carried out through the realization of devices, their applications to stationary and mobile systems and field demonstration of their high energy efficiency and low environmental impact.

The main part of ITAE research activity can be related to skill areas such as catalysis, electrocatalysis and enginery of energetic processes and systems. In this framework specific skils were developed in the sectors reported below:

- Fuel cells and electrochemical energy conversion devices catalysts
- Hydrogen and advanced fuel processing catalysts
- High and low temperature Fuel cells
- Fuel cells components
- Energy storage and conversion Materials for adsorption heat pumps
- Material and components for Batteries and supercapacitors
- Materials for selective membranes
- Materiali per celle fotovoltaiche-elettrochimiche
- Electrochemical photovoltaic cells materials
- Modelling and simulation for processes, components and systems
- Numerical simulation based on finite element method
- Heat Pump Systems
- Demonstrative fuel cell systems for automotive and stationary applications
- Demonstrative systems for hydrogen production
- Systems for hydrogen electrochemical production
- Equipment and technics of measure
- Energetic evaluations of systems for building and territorial applications