In Italy circulates to methane over a million vehicles, the highest number in Europe and in any case among the most important in the world, with a consolidated consumption of around one billion cubic meters of gas. Of all this methane, at least 20% is consumed in the bio form, with no environmental impact. User demand continues to grow, even if it could do so more quickly, and now even some self-service plants are arriving, after years of waiting.
For the energy transition of transport, this sector can also be relevant, beyond the electric 'boom'. Federmetano believes in it, which today brings together managers and technicians at a conference, at the Savoia Hotel Regency in Bologna, to take stock and not lose sight of opportunities. This is a stage of "Mutamenti in corso", the appointment of the 'energy' association aimed at spreading new good practices.
Therefore, we are studying how innovation will allow us to reduce methane emissions by 2025 and 2030, confident that in the medium-long term they will not be a problem with respect to the EU objectives on air quality.
“We can play an important role in the decarbonization that Europe is asking us to do by using the biomethane card, a product that has nothing to do with fossil fuels,” assures the president of Federmetano, engineer Dante Natali. Natali highlights biomethane: “From a chemical point of view there are no differences and therefore we can use the same infrastructure as today, used so far only for fossil methane. We want to ferry towards green and we are doing it in part, with 20% of biomethane already used today by those who use methane. A fifth of the kilometers traveled by methane-powered cars, a significant share therefore, have zero impact, without emitting Co2″.
On the part of consumers, warns Natali, however, there is not enough awareness of all this, "the potential of our sector is not well known: the problem of carbonization is being addressed, in fact, only from the point of view of electric mobility. We believe this is wrong. A lot of misleading information is circulating. People are forgetting about biomethane, a methane that, instead of ending up in the atmosphere, is conveyed into car tanks. It offers a double advantage, therefore: it does not disperse in the air and at the same time allows us not to use fossil fuels".
And so the number one of Federmetano insists: "Electric is not the only solution. It does not cover the entire transport and mobility market, as required. Instead, we need more technologies all in the same direction, in the decarbonisation process. We guarantee performance superior to that of electric, even if it is a message that in general we struggle to get across".
Meanwhile, methane-powered vehicles are still increasing. To date, 24.300 methane-powered cars have been registered in the period January-August 2021 compared to 23.000 in the same period in 2019 (+5,4%). In March, in particular, a +59,2% was recorded compared to the same month in 2019. Enrico Franciosi, head of the Manufacturers sector of Federmetano, explains: "There is a constant increase in methane-powered vehicles and the distribution network in a country, Italy, which remains the one with the most distributors in Europe. With the Simplification decree, we now have a great opportunity that we will discuss in a few weeks, we trust, with the Ministry of Transport.
Seizing the opportunities of international regulations, the goal – the Federmetano manager points out – is to ensure that the end user is as facilitated as possible in accessing methane mobility, also from an economic point of view. In the sector, the distribution network is growing a lot but the vehicles – Franciosi points out – could do so much more. Therefore, as Federmetano, we will ask authorities and ministries for incentives for the purchase of these vehicles, keeping in mind that today we have biomethane: a renewable source, no longer fossil fuels”.
This is confirmed by Claudio Piazza, national president of the LPG-methane sector for automotive traction of Confartigianato, who is a little worried about the delays that have occurred in recent years at ministerial level: "We are working with the ministries to equalize, from two to four years, the revision and therefore the requalification of Cng4 tanks for methane. We collaborate closely with Federmetano in this process. In the ecological transition, obviously, electric and hybrid play a role, but we can continue to exploit a low-cost fuel such as methane".
“Unfortunately - Piazza confirms - there are some delays, due to the various directors who have succeeded one another at the Ministry of Transport". On self-service systems, still little known even though regulated by the relevant decree of March 2019, designer Marco Rinaldi explains for Federmetano: "The transition towards self-service methane distribution systems - assures the engineer, whose family has managed a system for many years - is a transition that can be made, indeed that we must make. The new decree is a flexible tool that greatly simplifies the transition for the design of new interventions in particular. But with a few changes, it also allows existing systems to be updated, to move from the 'served' service mode on the forecourt to a self-service mode, approaching the classic activity of liquid fuel distribution. It is a very important aspect, to meet the needs of users".
Even from a technical point of view there are no particular problems, Rinaldi adds: "These are small improvements that do not constitute substantial variations to the structure of existing distributors, with all that that entails. Each owner and each manager, therefore, will be able to evaluate together with their technicians every cost-benefit ratio".
However, it still seems like a 'revolution' that has just begun, little known: "We are at the beginning of the transition, for this reason - the Federmetano designer points out - the numbers are still small. We are in the midst of a change that the entire sector has been waiting for, between dispensers with a predetermined amount and much more. In a few years the network will be updated in this direction. Is there a desire on the part of the managers to change? Of course, as in every transition that brings about novelties, a little patience will be needed, but we are confident".
There is an Italy that isn't measured in monuments or square meters, but lives in daily gestures, in handed-down rituals, in local languages, and in the traditions preserved by communities. This is the Italy that emerges from the first Census of Intangible Cultural Heritage, presented to the Chamber of Deputies, which has already collected over thirty thousand items including traditions, events, local products, and ancient knowledge.
The project, launched in 2023 and promoted by the National Union of Pro Loco d'Italia in collaboration with the National Association of Italian Municipalities (ANCI) and the Central Institute for Intangible Heritage, under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture, was born with the goal of preserving and sharing a fragile heritage, destined to disappear if not narrated and transmitted. This work is fully in line with the spirit of the 2003 UNESCO Convention and, by its very nature, can never be considered complete.
Italy's race to the 2026 World Cup enters its most delicate phase. With the conclusion of the qualifying groups, the road to the United States, Canada, and Mexico now passes through the playoffs, where four spots remain up for grabs. Tomorrow in Zurich, the Azzurri's path will be mapped out, a path that promises to be anything but straightforward.
Gattuso's team was placed in Pot 1 thanks to their FIFA rankings, a relative advantage that ensures only one thing: the semifinal on March 26 will be played in Italy. Their opponent, however, remains a major unknown. They will be drawn from Pot 4, the group of teams drawn through the Nations League, and the range of potential contenders leaves no room for distraction. Between Sweden, Northern Ireland, North Macedonia, and Romania, the risk of a complicated matchup is real, especially with Sweden eager for redemption and Macedonia already capable of ruining Italy's plans in the past.
Italy is no longer among the top ten powerhouses of world football. With the official FIFA ranking update, the national team slips to eleventh place, overtaken by Germany and Croatia. This is yet another clear sign that the Azzurri's rebuilding journey is far from complete and that recent international results continue to take their toll.
Argentina, the reigning world champions, remains firmly at the top of the world rankings, ahead of a Spain in great form and an ever-competitive France. England and Brazil are behind them, while Portugal is the one to make the headlines, climbing to sixth place after their triumph in the Nations League. They are followed by the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and, in tenth place, a Croatia that confirms its solid and cynical nature.
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