The Eni Award is a prize awarded by the Italian oil and gas company Eni with the aim of encouraging better use of energy sources and increased environmental research. The strict award guidelines and the notable names on the selection committee (including Nobel laureates) make Eni a coveted award. List of Eni award winners include Nobel laureates like Harry Kroto and Alan J. Heeger.
Some websites and magazines (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei) have called the Eni award the "Nobel prize of energy research". The scientific committee of the Eni award includes representatives from Stanford University, MIT, Cambridge, University of Stuttgart, Florida State University, University of Pisa, University of Texas at Austin, and others. The annual Eni award was launched in July 2007, foreseen by the group's Technological Master Plan. The Eni award extends and replaces the Eni-Italgas Prize, previously known as the Italgas Prize, which in 2006 had reached its XIX edition.
Award selection The award's Scientific Committee – which has the role of evaluating the candidates and assigning the prizes, is of the highest level and comprises researchers and scientists from some of the world's most advanced research institutes, and includes Jean-Marie Lehn, Nobel Prize 1987 for Chemistry.
In subsequent years, 78 researchers from 20 countries have been awarded: Italy, Germany, the United States, Australia, France, Canada, Spain, Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Israel, Sweden, South Korea, India, Egypt, South Africa, the Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, and Ethiopia. Included in the number are six Nobel Prize laureates. More than 7,559 researchers from around the world have submitted their research projects, to which should be added the numerous personalities who have guaranteed or been a part of the various evaluation commissions.
The distinguished representatives of the international scientific community who have received the Eni award in the past include Harry Kroto, 1996 Nobel Prize for Chemistry; Alan J. Heeger, 2000 Nobel Prize for Chemistry (unlike the others, he had won the Nobel Prize before receiving this award); Theodor W. Hänsch, 2005 Nobel Prize for Physics; Frances Arnold, 2018 Nobel Prize for Chemistry; Giorgio Parisi and Klaus Hasselmann, 2021 Nobel Prize for Physics; and Omar M. Yaghi, 2025 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
1987–2006 recipients 1987 Physics – Theodor W. Hänsch Energy Sciences – Mario Silvestri Computer Science – Angelo Raffaele Meo 1988 Chemistry – Peter Gray Environmental Sciences – Sergio Rinaldi Technology and Science of Materials – Bernard Raveau 1989 Physics – Gilberto Bernardini Environmental Sciences – Ramon Margalef Communications – Francesco Carassa 1990 Chemistry – Fernando Montanari Environmental Sciences – Peter Wadhams Technology and Science of Materials – Jacques Friedel 1991 Physics – Emilio Picasso Energy Sciences – Felix Weinberg Computer Science – Maurice Wilkes 1992 Chemistry – Harry Kroto Environmental Sciences – Bruno Battaglia Communications – Mario Pent 1993 Physics – Giorgio Parisi Energy Sciences – Bruno Coppi Technology and Sciences of Materials – Manuel Cardona 1994 Chemistry – Vincenzo Balzani Environmental Sciences – Claude Lorius Computer Science – Robin Milner 1995 Physics – Olli Lounasmaa Energy Sciences – Maurizio Cumo Communications – Fabio Rocca 1996 Chemistry – Carmelo Giacovazzo Environmental Science – Klaus Hasselmann Technology and Science of Materials – Franco Bassani, Giuseppe Zerbi 1997 Science and Technology for Energy, Information Systems and the Environment – Jean Laurent Mallet, Andrew Williams Woods 1998 Science and Technology for the Information – Sergio Benedetto, Pierluigi Poggiolini Science and Technology for the Energy – Franz Durst, Dimosthenis Trimis 1999 Science and Technology for Information Systems – Teuvo Kohonen Science and Technology for Energy – Peter Geoffrey Gray, Michael Petch 2000 Science and Technology for the Environment – Gus Hancock, Andreas Hofzumahaus Science and Technology for Information Systems – Orazio Svelto 2001 Applied Molecular Sciences – Graham Richards, Richard Friend, Jean-Luc Brédas 2003 Science and Environment – Michael Grätzel, Bruno Scrosati Projects for the Environment – Barefoot College Debut in the World of Research – Francesco Donsi, Alessandro Zavatta 2004 Science and Environment – Daniel G. Nocera Projects for the Environment – West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency Debut in the World of Research – Debora Fino, Valentina Bosetti 2005 Science and Environment – James Barber Projects for the Environment – Nepal Trust Organisation Debut in Research – Pietro Asinari, Sara Biamino, Erik Vesselli 2006 Science and Environment – Paul Alivisatos, Alan J. Heeger Debut in Research – Alberto Gasparotto, Maria Assunta Navarra Popularization of Science – Vittorio Bo Special Prize – TuttoScienze, Piero Bianucci
2008 recipients Prizes awarded in 2008 include:
The Research and Environment prize was awarded to the American scientist J. Craig Venter, one of the most important living geneticists who, in 2000, announced that he was the first to have complete a map of the human genome. The prize was awarded for late 2007 research paper, published in the journal Science, in which he created a synthetic chromosome in the laboratory while working on the DNA of bacteria. Venter's results are a fundamental step towards synthetic genes, which promise an unlimited range of revolutionary applications in the energy and environmental fields, such as new processes for the sequestration of CO2 or the regeneration of polluted environments. In terms of energy, this research opens the road to the design of new metabolic paths for the production of innovative biofuels from organic materials. The Science and Technology prize was awarded to Arthur J. Nozik (U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Laboratory in Golden, Colorado) and Stefan W. Glunz (Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg, Germany), both active in the field of the conversion of solar energy using photovoltaic technology. The two Research Debut prizes have been awarded to the young researchers Silvia Cereda (Università di Milano Bicocca) and Gian Luca Chiarello (Università degli Studi di Milano) for research that promises interesting developments in the field of energy production.
2009 recipients Prizes awarded in 2009 include
The New Frontiers in Hydrocarbons award was assigned to Alan G. Marshall (USA, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory) and Tony Settari (Canada), an expert in reservoir engineering and computerized simulations of oil reservoirs, as well as in geochemical processes and basin fracture analysis. It is awarded for research into the exploration, advanced recovery, development, refinement, transportation and distribution of oil and natural gas. The Renewable and Non-Conventional Energy award was given to Martin Green. It is presented for advanced R&D results in renewable and non-conventional energy sources. The Protection of the Environment award was awarded to Gérard Férey. It is presented for outstanding research and innovation in areas concerning the environmental impact of human activities, specifically protection and restoration of the environment, with a special focus on research and innovative technologies to eliminate local pollutants and CO2 to improve environmental conditions. The two Research Debut awards, given to young scholars to promote research in Italy, have been assigned to Alberto Cuoci and Loredana De Rogatis. They cover the same areas as the three international awards: research and technological innovation in hydrocarbons, renewable and non-conventional energy, and protection and restoration of the environment.
2010 recipients Prizes awarded in 2010 include:
The New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons prize was assigned to Avelino Corma, UPV-CSIC (Valencia), for his important discoveries about the synthesis of new catalysts to improve the refinement of the heaviest oil fractions and to Mark Knackstedt, Australian National University (Canberra), for his pioneering research into the location and characteristics of oil-fields, grounded on high resolution and 3D images of rock structures. The Renewable and Non-Conventional Energy prize was assigned to Angela Belcher, MIT (Boston), for her innovative and fundamental research project on the principles of development of the natural systems that can reconvert and use energy. The Protection of the Environment prize was awarded to François Morel, Princeton University, for his important discovery of a new class of enzymes that plays a crucial role in transport and fixation. The Debut in Research prizes were awarded to Lorenzo Fagiano, Polytechnic University of Turin (Turin), for a dissertation that represents an important ad innovative contribution on high altitude wind power generation and that includes theoretical analyses, systems planning, simulations and economic analyses; and to Matteo Mauro (University of Milan, Department of Inorganic Chemistry “L. Malatesta”) for a research project on high-efficiency energy devices with a strong potential for application to light-emitting systems with low energy loss, based on innovative electroluminescent components.
2011 recipients Prizes awarded in 2011 include:
The New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons prize was shared between two outstanding scientists, Professor Gabor A. Somorjai from University of California and Professor Martin Landrø from Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Professor Somorjai won the prize for his excellent work on the cracking process, while professor Landrø was awarded for his advanced "4D" seismic analysis technique. This was the last year, for the Eni Award, of a single New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons Prize: the following 2012 Edition presented two different Prizes, aimed to the Downstream and Upstream sectors. The Renewable and Non-Conventional Energy prize was given to Professor Gregory Stephanopoulos from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for his research on the bacterial genetic structure, with the aim of converting raw materials into hydrocarbons. The Protection of the Environment prize was assigned to Professor Jean-Marie Tarascon from the University of Picardie "Jules Verne", for his outstanding research in the lithium-ion battery sector, aimed to produce safer batteries with lower costs and environmental impact. The two Debut in Research prizes were awarded to Dr. Simone Gamba from the Politecnico di Milano, for his PhD Thesis on the hydrocracking process, and to Dr. Fabrizio Frontalini from the University of Urbino "Carlo Bo", for his PhD Thesis concerning the use of benthic foraminifera as biomarkers for the monitoring of pollution.
2012 recipients Prizes awarded in 2012 include:
The New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons prize (Upstream) was awarded to Fabio Rocca, professor emeritus of Telecommunications at the Politecnico of Milan, and Alessandro Ferretti, CEO of "Tele-Rilevamento Europa" (TRE) for developing an algorithm to process data from satellite observation systems. The New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons prize (Downstream) was awarded to Enrique Iglesia, Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, for developing a more effective catalyst that is able to efficiently transform raw materials. The Renewable, non-conventional energy prize was awarded to Harry A. Atwater, Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science at the California Institute of Technology and director of the Resnick Institute for Science, Energy and Sustainability, and Albert Polman, Director and Scientific Group Leader of the FOM Institute AMOLF in Amsterdam, for their research to optimize the production of solar energy by reducing costs.