Brescia hosts the "LIFE RePowerEU" conference

Brescia, 14 May 2024 - The LIFE Platform RePowerEU Conference, promoted by the European Commission, with the Directorates General for Climate Action (DG Climate) and Energy (DG ENER) and the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), opens today in Brescia. It is dedicated to the European REPowerEU plan and to the strategies put in place by Italy to achieve the decarbonisation objectives, with a special focus on the efficient heating and cooling sector, one of the pillars of the European strategy.

Participants included leading figures from national and European institutions, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, Maria Velkova - Deputy Head of Unit DG CLIMA, Hans Rhein, Head of Unit CINEA, Paolo Arrigoni, President of the GSE, Federico Boschi, Head of the Energy Department at MASE and Raffaele Spallone, Head of the Business Digitisation and Production Sector Analysis Division at MIMIT, together to highlight the steps taken in the implementation of the RepowerEU and the next steps towards the decarbonisation of the heating&cooling sector together with the challenges of the near future.

During the Conference, national and European representatives divided into two working groups, Domestic/Residential and Industrial, meet for the first time to share experiences and best practices from their respective Member States and with the task of drafting a Policy Plan, related to Heating and Cooling, to be handed over to the new EU Commission and Member State Governments.

Also planned for the second day on 15 May is a guided tour of the ORI MARTIN steel plant, a virtuous example of energy efficiency and integration with the local area, thanks to the HEATLEAP project, the first high-temperature industrial heat pump produced by Turboden and capable of recovering waste heat from the production process, providing useful heat for the city's district heating network.

"Having organised this event together with Confindustria Brescia, which hosted us at its headquarters, makes us particularly proud," said Paolo Bertuzzi, CEO & Managing Director of Turboden S.p.A. "The development of key technologies such as large heat pumps for industrial users and utilities is the driver for future developments in the Heating & Cooling sector on a global scale. The electrification of heat by heat pumps is proving to be the most competitive decarbonisation solution for residential, industrial and district heating. Europe, and Italy in particular, have the right know-how to lead the development both on the demand side and as a leader on the supply side, with important spin-offs also in terms of employment. Turboden intends to play an important role in projects where customised solutions and/or high temperature output are needed. Having given space for this type of comparison is proof that the direction taken is the right one”. Paolo Bertuzzi, CEO & Managing Director Turboden S.p.A.

"For the first time in Italy, the European Commission with its Directorates General for Climate Action (DG Climate) and Energy (DG ENER) - together with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) - organised a high-level meeting dedicated to the European REPowerEU plan and its implications in terms of energy efficiency for the heating and cooling sector, of which Brescia is one of the main examples in Italy. I would like to thank the many qualified guests who will fill these two days of commitments with stimuli and ideas and, at the same time, our associate company Turboden, which has been at the forefront in organising the event. Europe is our home: a concept that we have now learnt to assimilate, both as citizens and as entrepreneurs. Believing in Europe can and must therefore be a necessity: as Confindustria we are demonstrating this with a very concrete commitment, through a physical presence in Brussels, with Punto Europa. At the same time, however, we are trying to bring Europe to us: with events such as today's and tomorrow's and, in recent months, by inviting two authoritative MEPs such as Patrizia Toia and Isabella Tovaglieri to our SetteOttavi roadshow. I am convinced that meetings like the one we are kicking off this morning will be more and more central and appreciated by our companies, but also an important stimulus to reflect on the future that awaits us, in particular on crucial sectors for Made in Brescia." Franco Gussalli Beretta, President of Confindustria Brescia. 

"Today we are honoured to have welcomed a delegation of Italian and European politicians and public leaders to our plant in Brescia. During the visit, we had the opportunity to explain in detail our plant, our initiatives and our future plans in terms of decarbonisation. And above all, we had the opportunity to show our flagship, the heat pump, realised in partnership with Turboden, of which we are very proud. Over the years, O.R.I. has demonstrated its sensitivity to the surrounding area by giving considerable importance to environmental issues and the energy transition and decarbonisation of its production cycle, proving to be a leader in its sector”. Carolina de Miranda, Sustainability Manager of Ori Martin.