In the past two months – from September to November 2020 – E2DRIVER partners have worked assiduously to communicate, in great detail, the project’s developments that have taken place over the past year. Over the course of 3 national online workshops, the project’s efforts to increase energy efficiency in the European automotive sector as well as overall developments and newest results were brought closer to interested audiences in Spain, Italy and France.

The online workshops were organised on the following days:

Spain – September 29
Italy – October 28
France – November 20

An overview of the three events is provided below. The Spanish and Italian workshops can be viewed here and here.


Spanish national workshop

On September 29, 2020, the Spanish partners of the European project E2DRIVER, CIRCE and SERNAUTO, organised an online event to promote the project’s visibility and disseminate its results. Diego Redondo (CIRCE) and Fernando Ramos (SERNAUTO) welcomed more than 20 attendees interested in this European project, presenting how energy efficiency in the automotive sector is key to the competitiveness of SMEs.

Erudino Llano (CIRCE), the project coordinator, made a brief presentation about E2DRIVER, showing the goals, as well as the expected results. In the next session, Gema Millán, expert in energy audits at CIRCE, showed the importance of audits focused on SMEs as well as the great benefits they can bring about if the suggested measures are implemented. Shortly after, Erudino Llano explained the essence of the participation that is expected on companies’ part. He presented all the actions in training and energy assessments companies can benefit from, inviting attending companies to become part of the E2DRIVER community as replication companies.

Fernando Ramos presented the companies that are already part of the E2DRIVER project in Spain (FAE-Francisco Albero, Mecacontrol y Vauste). Finally, Cecilia Medina showed why the Move2Future (M2F) technological platform is part of the project’s advisory board due to the high interest of this type of initiative in the sector’s SMEs.

Italian national workshop

In the initial session, Federica Lo Cascio (Project Manager from Sinergie) welcomed the audience and provided a short introduction to the event by briefly presenting the topics  and the various speakers that participated at the event. Speranza Boccafogli – Director of Sinergie – presented the training entity it represents. Paolo Dondo introduced the Innovation Cluster MESAP in his role as the Technical Manager, and professor Maurizio Repetto spent a few words about the well-known Politecnico of Turin and the departments that are involved in the E2DRIVER project.

E2DRIVER: training on energy audits as a driver of energy efficiency in the automotive sector

The first part of this session, presented by Federica Lo Cascio, was devoted to a presentation of the E2DRIVER project, its partners and the implementation of the proposed methodology and main goals, i.e. the contribution to the decrease of energy consumption in the automotive sector. It furthermore focused on the actions to be carried out in pilot companies in terms of training and capacity building, and emphasised the expected benefits that could be achieved. The second part of the session was presented by Maurizio Repetto, Full Professor of Principles of Electrical Engineering at the Energy Department of Politecnico of Turin. That session dealt specifically with the Politecnico’s contributions to WP2 “Benchmark and analysis of training programmes in the automotive sector”.

The third part of the webinar addressed energy audits and offered a complete overview on their importance, implementation, KPIs, cost-benefit analysis and advantages derived from carrying out an efficient audit event in SMEs. This part was presented by Armando Portoraro, Adjunct Professor and the Energy Department of Politecnico of Turin and Consultant at MESAP Innovation Cluster.

Presentation of pilot companies: needs and expectations

  • Fabio Del Monaco from FOMT Spa presented the company, which is located in the Turin area and active in various in-house technological sectors, including foundry and machining. FOMT is specialised in the production of automotive components, both bodywork trim components and engine parts, and counts among its customers important companies such as FIAT, IVECO and Pininfarina. As a company with a high consumption of electric energy, FOMT launched a targeted energy efficiency programme aimed at training top management to increase their specific skills, and at motivating employees by increasing their general awareness on the programme. From its participation in E2Driver, FOMT expects an important contribution in terms of employees’ training and a reduction of energy consumption, which will benefit both the income statement and the environment.
  • Michele Massa from SIVE Spa, a small enterprise located in Turin area which, since its foundation more than 40 years ago, specialized on surface treatment on metals and plastics. Over the years, the company managed to grow and establish itself in diversified markets such as electronics, automotive and home appliances. Energy consumption rates are especially high, therefore SIVE participated in E2DRIVER in order to reduce the highest cost item and thus save money, improve the company’s energy footprint, and have a well-trained staff.

Energy efficiency: developments and opportunities for the manufacturing sector

The first part of this final session was presented by Paolo Dondo, Technical Manager at MESAP and responsible for the technical management of the “Smart Product and Manufacturing” innovation cluster. He presented a call launched by the Piedmont region, specifically targeting SMEs, aimed at supporting investment programmes and innovating production processes in terms of energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. The second part was presented by Speranza Boccafogli, Director of Sinergie since 2001 and expert in project management, training courses, research programmes and subsidised finance. Her speech focused specifically on 3 funding schemes for SMEs: 1) the opportunity of tax credit for investment in capital goods; 2) the New Sabatini law for investment in capital goods and 3) the National Fund for Energy Efficiency.

Federica Lo Cascio, as event moderator, wrapped up the main conclusions that were reached during the webinar and invited participants to show their interest in taking part in the project as pilot companies.

French national workshop

On November 20, Mov’eo gathered 12 companies to a webinar “SMEs, benefit from energy audit training co-funded by the European Union”

Our technical partner Engie started by defining energy audits, its objectives, procedures and potential results. They put forward the benefits of energy audits for SMEs in terms of performance, brand image, and compliance to regulatory and environmental requirements. They explained that this awareness on energy performance is essential learning for company top management, but also contributes to developing a culture of energy efficiency for all the company staff, from managers to science and engineering professionals, technical managers and technicians. This collective awareness enables the company to constantly manage energy performance and improve its processes. Energy savings consequently goes from 5 to 20% after these audits.

The foundations were laid to present E2DRIVER trainings, whose specialty is to foster autonomy in energy audits, benefit from a tailor-made expertise and training adapted to different categories of employees. Engie also informed about E2DRIVER innovative training methods (self-directed learning, virtual reality) and the possibility to exchange best practices with other companies involved. Moreover, it was clearly mentioned that E2DRIVER fosters energy efficiency in the long term and encourages the implementation of energy management systems in companies.

Presentation of industrial stakeholders

The pilot company Nanomakers completed this speech by presenting its activities, i.e production of silicon-based nanopowders in industrial quantity: Silicon Si and Silicon Carbide SiC for materials reinforcement. Its representative explained how it implies energy management for energy efficiency, hence its involvement in E2DRIVER.

Renault also talked about the implementation of ISO 50001 standard in its Cléon site (Normandy, France). This testimony at a much bigger scale than SMEs was very inspiring to understand how manufacturers have to deal with some common organisational challenges, i.e. the importance of involving both top management and raise awareness among all the employees, to move towards the implementation of a consolidated energy management system.

Finally, Mov’eo’s partner ECG, an energy group purchasing organisation, presented its solution to the attending companies, for energy costs optimization by pooling the needs of SMEs and comparing contracts between suppliers.