Ferrari’s Maranello facilityFerrari and
Philip Morris International (PMI), strategic partners since 1973, are embarking on a new chapter in their historic relationship. Ferrari E-Lab, in collaboration with PMI, will bring together the two companies’ technological capabilities to scout and explore new energy-related technologies that could support the decarbonisation journey of their respective production facilities in Maranello and Crespellano, located 30km apart in the Emilia Romagna region of Northern Italy.
The partnership aims to assess key solutions contributing to industrial electrification in the generation, storage and transformation of renewable energy. The first study will explore the viability of long-duration energy storage technologies and should be completed by the third quarter of 2024.
Ferrari’s CEO Benedetto Vigna said: “In the year of the 50th anniversary of our partnership, Ferrari and PMI share a desire to evolve their operations together in a spirit of open innovation. Our companies will collaborate to research new technology solutions to develop and optimise the use of energy in our industrial processes. We can learn a great deal from bringing together highly specialised teams from different sectors.” Ferrari aims to become carbon neutral by 2030.
PMI’s CEO Jacek Olczak said: “PMI welcomes this new chapter in the long-standing partnership with Ferrari, establishing a new area of collaboration for our two organizations. We are bound by a common passion for innovation and this initiative, and its drive to develop pioneering energy-related technology solutions.”
Scott Coutts, PMI’s senior vice-president operations, added: “We are looking forward to collaborating with Ferrari, particularly in exploring the potential for low-carbon hydrogen as fuel source, notably in manufacturing applications where electrification may not offer a viable solution. Our three-pronged approach to decarbonising our operations includes reducing fossil fuel consumption, switching to renewables, and offsetting unavoidable emissions. Through this pilot we aim to explore the role hydrogen could play in our strategy.”