Pursuant to art. 37 of Law no. 99 of July 23rd, 2009, the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) comes into being on September 15th, 2009, with the appointment and installation of its Commissioner and Sub-Commissioners.
According to this Law, the Agency's activities are targeted to "research, innovation technology and advanced services in the fields of sustainable economic development and energy, especially nuclear energy".

ENEA conducts scientific research and technology development activities that draw on a wide range of expertise, advanced facilities and equipment located at its own research centres. The agency started researching fuel cell technology in 1988, and has worked mainly on Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) and Molten Carbonate (MCFC) fuel cells with various partners; some work has been done on SOFC and metal hydride storage solutions. Current work focuses on the development of PEM fuel cell stacks and units (1-30kW), fuel processing and control systems for transport applications with partners such as Arcotronics, CNR-ITAE, Nuvera, Polytechnic of Milan and the Universities of Genoa and Rome. Further R&D activities take place in the development of large MCFC (125kW and 500kW) units where ENEA is working with Italian and other European partners, including Ansaldo Fuel Cell (AFCo), CNR-ITAE, CESI, FN and the Universities of Perugia, Messina and Genoa. In 2003, ENEA has signed a multinational agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the USA and the environment agency in China to work together on using hydrogen as a new clean energy source and fuel cell technology.

Ansaldo Fuel Cells borns from the ventennial fuel cell experience of the Ansaldo Group, with the mission to transform it into an industrially viable product.
From Ansaldo we have inherited human capital, the key asset of the Company, patents, know how, rights and obligations, together with a brand that from over 150 years is strictly linked to Italian industry.
MCFC development in Ansaldo dates back to the late 70s in "Ansaldo Energia".
Over the last twenty years the technology moved from the laboratory scale, through a number of technological stacks of different powers, to the realisation, in 1999, of a 100 kW proof of concept power plant at ENEL Ricerca facilities in Milan, Italy. Such a plant marked the transition from the technology development to the present demonstration phase.

SOFCpower is a dynamic and rapidly progressing Italian company that develops and manufactures high temperature electroceramic devices based on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) technology. SOFCpower's fuel cells can be used to provide electricity and sometimes heat in applications as diverse as housing (hot water, space heating and electricity), remote power where no electricity grid exists.

Since 2000, SOFCpower has developed thin anode supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cells at HTceramix (CH). The company is now offering cells, half-cells and anode supports on a commercial basis. These SOFC products are based on NiO/YSZ anode and YSZ electrolyte produced by co-casting and co-sintering followed by screen-printing of the cathode layers. The cells are manufactured in the pilot production plant in Italy.

Forschungszentrum Julich pursues cutting-edge interdisciplinary research on solving the grand challenges facing society in the fields of health, energy and the environment, and also information technologies. In combination with its two key competencies - physics and supercomputing - work at Julich focuses on both long-term, fundamental and multidisciplinary contributions to science and technology as well as on specific technological applications. With a staff of about 4400, Julich - a member of the Helmholtz Association - is one of the largest research centres in Europe.

Researchers at Julich are developing strategies that will guarantee a sustainable energy supply in harmony with the environment.
The focus is on the environment as a whole with its complex interactions between soil, water, atmosphere and plants, as well as human beings.
Photovoltaics and nuclear fusion will thus be available in the near and distant future, respectively, as new, CO2-free, cost-effective energy sources. Energy generation with coal- and gas-fired power plants will be made more efficient. Fuel cells will pave the way towards the hydrogen economy. Innovative systems and materials are the basis for progress in the energy sector.

Alstom is a global leader in the world of power generation and sets the benchmark for innovative and environmentally conscious technologies.
Through our continuous innovation efforts and the development of new and advanced technologies, Alstom leads the power generation market.

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Ariston Thermo Group after having created a new European centre of competence for solar thermal in central Italy and supplied a sophisticated 7,500 m2 solar system for the Beijing Olympics, continued to invest in the development of a comprehensive portfolio of renewable energy solutions.
Ariston Thermo Group is able to leverage its product range and its global markets to give the flexibility to respond to fluctuations in demand and also retains a strong competitive edge by being a family owned business with a solid financial structure and efficient operations.
Ariston Thermo Group has strong presence in Europe and in key developing markets such as China, India, and Vietnam. Ariston Thermo Group, focused on new product innovations, has the objective to be one of the global leaders in the heating sector