The substantial patent portfolio developed by eni demostrates its innovative capacity; to date it has more than 9,000 patents protecting around one thousand inventions. In 2013, 59 new patent applications were filed, including 27 for the development of new fuels from biomass and technology for the exploitation of solar energy.
The importance given by eni to technological innovation is also confirmed by the eni Award, established in July 2007 to reward cutting-edge scientific research in three areas: new hydrocarbon frontiers, alternative and unconventional energies and environmental protection.
The award is advertised annually and draws on a consolidated and prestigious network of researchers in the energy and environment field. The objective is to monitor and encourage the best research and the most important scientists in the world in the energy field, with the ambition of becoming a sort of Energy Nobel Prize.
