PNRR and NODES (Nord Ovest Digitale E Sostenibile) –Digital and Sustainable North West
With the PNRR –National Recovery and Resilience Plan –Europe has thought to an extraordinary line of financing, which breaks with the patterns of past even opening up to the sharing of debt between member countries and allowing countries to breach the constraints of the Stability Pact.
An injection of capital and investments that has no equal in historical memory and at the same time disbursed as a one-off payment.
It is therefore a priority to make the best use of these resources.
“NODES –Digital and Sustainable North West” is an Ecosystem project of Innovation
funded by the Ministry of University and Research as part of the investments envisaged by the PNRR –which will bring 110 million euro on the territory of Piedmont, Valle d ’Aosta and on the provinces more western regions of Lombardy –Como, Varese and Pavia –and 15 million euros for research activities and cascading calls in favour of the southern Italian regions.
What are Innovation Ecosystems
Innovation ecosystems are networks of state and non-state universities, Public research bodies, territorial public bodies, other public entities e highly qualified individuals working in areas of specialization technology consistent with the industrial and research vocations of the area reference, promoting and strengthening collaboration between the system of research, the production system and local institutions.
Innovation ecosystems valorize research results, facilitate technology transfer and accelerate transformation of the production processes of companies with a view to sustainability economic and environmental and social impact on the territory.
THE IMPACTS OF NODES
NODES vision is to increase the competitiveness of industries and of research by positioning the territory at a national level e international as an attractive “territorial system” for talents highly skilled and private investment.
The research activities that will be carried out can be traced back to specific focuses, all falling under the umbrella of digital transitions and ecological: industry 4.0 for sustainable mobility and aerospace, green technologies and sustainable industry, culture and industry tourism, digital innovation for a sustainable mountain, industry for health and the silver economy, primary and secondary agro-industry.
The ecosystem is structured in such a way as to guarantee interdisciplinarity between the different themes and the happy mix of technologies and innovations digital. We want to increase the competitiveness of industries and research structures, positioning the territory at a national level and international as a “territorial system ”attractive for talents highly skilled and private investment.
GOALS
The NODES project aims to support innovation on trajectories technologies with high potential to develop new products on the one hand and processes in existing SMEs, stimulating valorization processes research and technology transfer and increasing competitiveness also at an international level and, on the other hand, to encourage the creation of start-ups and «Deep Tech» spin-off in the identified sectors, attracting economic resources additional from Venture Capital funds.
To implement this collaboration, paths and tools will be studied collaborative innovation between start-ups, SMEs, large companies and the world of innovative, scalable and replicable research even after the PNRR is concluded.
Finally, great attention will be paid to the training of talents and to the up-skilling and re-skilling of personnel employed with training advanced and through innovative teaching approaches and their inclusion in the productive world, with a focus on the involvement of women in the sector STEM and the innovation of the role of the PhD in optics “industrial ”.
Large companies will support the Ecosystem by playing a key role in the identification of industrial development trajectories, in hiring of highly qualified personnel and in supporting the absorption of developed innovations.
THE ORGANIZATION OF NODES
Nodes is organized into 7 thematic projects ––or SPOKE –each coordinated by a North West University and featuring a specific focus under the umbrella of digital and ecological transitions.
SPOKE 2 –GREEN TECHNOLOGIES AND SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRY
NODES has a Spoke –GREEN TECHNOLOGIES AND SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRY –focused on green technologies and sustainable industries –coordinated by the University of Turin.
Objective of Spoke 2: achieve leadership in the chains of clean and climate-neutral industrial value in the circular economy and climate-neutral digital systems and infrastructures, that enable strong cross-sectoral cooperation and support for allow the implementation of the principles and the involvement of as more subjects as possible; be at the service of the territory by supporting the local economy through solutions that limit waste disposal and that allow the valorization for the recovery of value from discharges and industrial and agricultural effluents.
Spoke ’s focus is on the different waste streams for implement mature technologies in different industrial realities, favoring a transition towards a green and innovative model.
It proposes processes innovative and alternative transformation with low environmental impact
aimed at the conversion and valorization of industrial effluents and others reuse of chemicals; stimulates and promotes collaboration between universities and industries, and prepare staff for the new goals of realities greens.
The realization of the activities of the Spoke 2 leverages the strengths already existing in the area to create the capabilities specifically needed by productive and economic driving sectors, to the public sector and to the world of education and research for a gradual but radical change interdisciplinary areas such as Green Chemistry, Sustainable Energy, Materials Science, Bioeconomy in view of a unitary concept that correlates human, animal and environmental health.
THE SPOKE 2 RESEARCH AND INNOVATION AGENDA
The goal of Spoke is the implementation and application of Circular Economy approaches to implement productions of green industrial processes and at the same time to enhance and reuse industrial, agricultural and civil effluents, together with waste minerals.
Thus we will be promoting sustainable development by favoring one shift towards innovative and sustainable industrial models.
The project has the particular aim of expanding professional profiles related to the introduction of new technologies in production processes and the digitization of the latter to generate a new revolution digital industrial capable of relaunching the economy and reducing the environmental impact.
The complex issue of wastewater reuse also fits into this context, which requires a multidisciplinary approach to be effectively addressed in its complexity.
The International School on Water Reuse contributes to the training process and to the construction/strengthening of a network of national and international, intra- and inter-sectoral contacts