SUMMER Project
SUstainable Management of Mountains and water Resources
Sectors
Digital and sustainable mountain
Scientific Leader
Francesco Laio, Politecnico di Torino
Themes
Mountain areas provide essential ecosystem services to downstream communities, being the source of water and energy resources needed to sustain our society. Even at the local level, a large amount of energy and water is required in the Alpine area by various users, such as the tourism and skiing industries. Digital technologies, combined with the power of "big data" and AI-powered analytics, spur unprecedented innovation in how energy and water companies manage these vital resources.
Objectives
The long-term ambition of this project is to accompany energy and water management in the digital age, showing how smart technology can enhance the integrated management of water and energy systems. The project will generate collaborations between the research system, the production system and local institutions, enhancing the results of research, facilitating technology transfer and accelerating the digital transformation of companies and production processes, working towards economic and environmental sustainability and social impact of the territories involved.
Expected Results
- Sensors and tools to monitor and make efficient forecasts on water resources and energy productivity.
- Protocols and structures of storage and data management to correctly manage the big data generated.
- Digital and modelling tools for the integrated management of water and energy resources, operable remotely.
- Innovative solutions to increase and better manage energy storage capacity.
- Demonstrators of the potential of digital technologies, including the Internet of Things, Point Clouds, Artificial Intelligence, GNSS and satellite technologies, to create advanced resilience infrastructures.
- Plug and play and interoperable monitoring and optimization software for power generation plants and multi-utilities.
- Smart metering tools and digital connectivity.
Impact on the territory
According to the EUSALP strategy, digitalisation through connectivity and digital services can be a way to address the critical challenges of mountain areas, such as depopulation, brain drain, physical barriers, accessibility to well-being and economic growth. Starting from this, the project considers the use of digital technologies to improve the performance of companies located in mountain areas by reducing or solving the critical issues identified in the EUSALP strategy.
Digitalization becomes important for an efficient and sustainable use of water and energy resources, to reduce travel and make life in mountain areas easier for people who work for companies anywhere located on the territory of the ecosystem (mountains and plains).
Participants:
Politecnico di Torino:
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Ambiente, del Territorio e delle Infrastrutture
- Dipartimento di Energia “Galileo Ferraris”
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria Strutturale, Edile e Geotecnica
- Dipartimento di Automatica e Informatica
Università di Torino:
- Dipartimento di Management
- Dipartimento Interateneo di Scienze, Progetto e Politiche del Territorio
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra
Università della Valle d’Aosta:
- Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Politiche
Fondazione LINKS:
- Centro per l’Osservazione della Terra
- AI, Data & Space
Fondazione Montagna Sicura:
- Area Ricerca Ghiacciai, Neve e Valanghe
Università degli Studi della Basilicata