Pioneer plant at Fiumicino airport
Pioneer comes to life at Rome Fiumicino International Airport, a project that combines energy transition, circular economy and industrial innovation. Built by Enel and Aeroporti di Roma with the scientific support of the Fraunhofer Institute, Pioneer is the largest energy storage system in Italy based on second-life batteries, and one of the most advanced in Europe.
The heart of the project is a 10 MWh BESS (Battery Energy Storage System), built by Loccioni, which has converted 762 exhausted battery packs from Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis vehicles, making them functional again for stationary energy storage. A first at European level for the integration of heterogeneous technologies from three car manufacturers.
The system is fully integrated with the Solar Farm in Fiumicino, the largest self-consumption photovoltaic system in a European airport, inaugurated in January 2025. The goal: to store renewable energy to be used even in the absence of sunshine, optimizing consumption and supporting grid stability.
A European best practice in the circular economy
Pioneer is much more than a technical plant: it is a concrete model of circular economy applied on an industrial scale, capable of reducing CO₂ emissions by 16,000 tons in ten years. The batteries, although no longer suitable for use on the road, demonstrate their full potential in the energy field, contributing to the decarbonization path of the Roman airport, already awarded among the best 10 airports in the world by Skytrax.
The validity of the project has also been recognized at European level, with the selection among the winners of the "Innovation Fund SSC-2020" call of the European Agency for Climate, Environment and Infrastructure (CINEA).
The value of collaboration and Made in Italy
During the official presentation event, representatives of the Government, local institutions and partners involved were present, including the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso and the CEO of ADR Marco Troncone. Everyone underlined the strategic value of a project born from the synergy between Italian excellence and international know-how, capable of bringing real innovation at the service of the sustainability of the country system.
"The Pioneer project represents a concrete symbol of our strategy, because it combines our strong commitment to environmental sustainability, the ability to enhance technological innovation and the determination to effectively create a system with the country's excellence, such as Enel," said Marco Troncone, CEO of Aeroporti di Roma. "We are thus consolidating our path towards decarbonisation and energy autonomy of our airports, with the aim of achieving NetZero by 2030".
