News From 2025

ERGO at Hydrogen Expo - May 2025

ERGO attended the 4th edition of Hydrogen Expo in Piacenza with our post-doc Daniele Beltrami representing the group.

Students Visiting the Waste-to-Energy Plant in Brescia - May 2025

Students from the “Energy Conversion Systems” course visited the a2a-owned waste-to-energy plant in Brescia. 🔥♻️🏭

A big thank you to all the staff for guiding us through the visit and sharing valuable insights! 🙌

STUDENT AT SIAD - May 2025

Last week, students from the course “Innovative Technologies for Energy Decarbonization” had the opportunity to visit SIAD S.p.A. plant in Osio Sopra (BG). During the visit, they gained valuable insights into the operation of various production units  and industrial processes. 🏭💡

A big thank you to all the SIAD staff for organizing and guiding us throughout the visit!

STUDENT ON VISIT - May 2025

Students from the Biofuels course visited the A2A Group’s biomass power plant in Cremona, where a Turboden ORC unit is installed for the cogeneration of electricity and hot water for the city’s district heating network. 🔋🌱

A big thank you to Ing. Enrico Ferrari for guiding us throughout the visit and sharing his expertise! 👷‍♂️👨‍🏫

Congratulations Michele - April 2025

Congratulations to our PhD candidate Michele Doninelli on successfully defending (cum laude) his doctoral thesis! Ad maiora! 🎓👏

We are glad that Michele is holding a position as post doctoral researcher in our group working in several projects.

Bravissimo!

ERGO at EU sCO2 Conference - April 2025

A few members of our group are attending the 6th European sCO₂ Conference in Delft! 

PhD candidate Vladimir Naumov presented his work: “Comparison of sCO₂, CO₂ mixtures, and steam Rankine cycles for CSP with component sizing: implications for cost and flexibility.” Link.

Postdoctoral researcher Michele Doninelli showcased: “Transcritical CO₂ + Fluorobenzene High-Temperature Heat Pumps Thermally Integrated with Air Separation Unit Systems: Mixture Bubble Points Measurements and Cycle Analysis.” Link.

Prof. Gioele Di Marcoberardino gave a talk about the EU projects related to CO₂ mixtures: SCARABEUSPROJECT and H2020 DESOLINATION project.

Prof. Invernizzi on the Air! - February 2025

Our dear Prof. Invernizzi appeared on a local TV network in Brescia to discuss the present and future energy landscape, with a special focus on nuclear and renewable energy. 🎙️⚡

📺 Tune in to the full interview (Italian speakers only) here: link.

A new publication is now available online! - January 2025

"Solar tower power plants with CO2 + SiCl4 mixtures in transcritical cycles" has been published in the journal Renewable Energy journal.

This work, led by PhD student Vladimir Naumov, highlights the potential of CO2 + SiCl4 mixtures for CSP applications, presenting a techno-economic analysis of their performance. 🔥☀️🔬

This work is part of the TOPCSP doctoral network.

Full article: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2025.122518 

Seville Forum on Machinery for Decarbonization - January 2025
Prof. Gioele Di Marcoberardino and Post-doc Michele Doninelli attended The Seville Forum on Machinery for Decarbonization. 🧑‍🔬 

The event brought together industry leaders, technology centers, and administrations to focus on advancing technologies for the efficient production and storage of electrical and thermal energy with zero carbon footprint. 💡 🌿

New Paper on MACBETH Project - January 2025
"Techno-economic analysis for the design of membrane reactors in a small-scale biogas-to-hydrogen plant" has been published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.12.245 

This study demonstrates that membrane reactor performance can be effectively summarized in generalized performance charts, allowing the characterization of reactors and MR-based systems based solely on membrane area for various conditions (temperatures, pressures, feed composition, catalyst amount, and steam-carbon ratio). 

Led by Politecnico di Milano and Eindhoven University of Technology, this paper is part of the MACBETH Project.