The Engineering for the Energy Transition Master's Degree Program aims to train professionals with a solid foundation, including both basic and specific knowledge. This enables them, through a predominantly engineering methodology and an interdisciplinary approach, to identify, formulate, and solve complex problems arising from the opportunity to develop the energy transition from fossil to renewable energy sources. These professionals can work in both public and private organizations or as independent practitioners in high-profile roles for the management, design, and coordination of initiatives aimed at reducing dependence on fossil energy sources in both building and industrial systems. In particular, graduates in Engineering for the Energy Transition are capable of working independently by integrating technical and engineering, economic, environmental, and social skills, respecting the constraints set by clients, regulations, and legislation.
The ongoing energy transition is focused on the effort to reduce society's dependence on fossil energy sources by acting along various directions, including the reduction of final energy consumption, increased use of renewable sources, more rational energy use, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. A characteristic aspect of the current transition is the shift to the electrical energy vector for applications historically powered by fossil fuels, facilitated by the widespread use of electronic converters and the availability of new users (such as electric vehicles, heat pumps, and induction cooktops). Additionally, there is a transition from centralized to hybrid centralized/distributed electricity generation with greater exploitation of renewable sources, particularly solar energy. To effectively address the challenges posed by this energy transition, graduates in Engineering for the Energy Transition must achieve specific goals and, in particular, demonstrate:
- Understanding contextual aspects related to the energy transition, necessary for interpreting the complexity of relationships between energy systems, economic systems, the environment, landscape, and social context.
- The ability to apply economic or multi-criteria assessments to projects related to energy transition in industry, energy requalification of plants and building structures, and planning energy transition within an organization, aided by knowledge in the field of business organization (corporate culture).
- The skill to integrate, from both a technical-engineering and regulatory-market perspective, energy systems with electrical systems integrated into industry and buildings. In addition to this capability, graduates must acquire knowledge related to modern technologies enabling electrification, such as electric mobility, nano and microgrids, ICT technologies for the internet of energy, consumption and production forecasting, and home automation.
- The ability to identify and use technologies for harnessing renewable sources for the production of electricity and heat that are most suitable for specific energy and environmental scenarios.
- The ability to design residential, commercial, and industrial photovoltaic systems, even in contexts subject to conservation constraints.
- Acquisition of skills for designing building envelopes, considering structural integration, compatibility, functionality, and the sustainability of design choices in compliance with evolving regulations and the contexts in which buildings are located, also using digital information systems for project management.
- Knowledge of the behavior of the building-facilities system, and its thermal balance, for the design and realization of buildings and low-consumption or zero-emission air conditioning systems, optimizing the use of renewable energy sources and considering the effects of climate change.
- The ability to address advanced issues in heat exchange and technologies related to cold production for both building air conditioning and industrial applications.
- The skills necessary to integrate storage systems, both electrochemical and thermal, into the energy project, including those based on the use of hydrogen, and the related energy management systems optimizing energy flows from an energy, economic, and environmental perspective.
- The ability to assess the energy, economic, and environmental sustainability of industrial products and processes through knowledge of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology.
