ENEA is responsible by law for the scientific and technological aspects of nuclear energy; it fosters and carries out basic and applied research, including the creation of prototypes and product industrialisation related to nuclear technologies and applications.

ENEA conducts experimental research on climate change and technological research within the PNRA (National Programme of Research in Antarctica). Together with CNR (the National Research Centre), OGS (the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics), and INGV (the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology), it is partner of the PNRA S.C.r.l. consortium a CNR, OGS, INGV) with a 28% share. It coordinates two out of twelve PNRA research sectors – Glaciology and Technology – and is member of the National Scientific Committee for Antarctica.

ENEA carries out technology transfer aiming at increasing the Italian economic system’s competitivity with a view to sustainable development. This activity actually consists in: making agreements on the use of patents and sharing scientific know-how; setting up research labs, implementing technological innovation projects; supporting the creation of new enterprises. ENEA ensures its presence on the national territory by way of its 12 Research Centres and 15 PILs (Local Initiative Points).

ENEA provides its technical and scientific support to Ministries as well as regional and local administrations for: defining regulations requiring specific technical and scientific expertise; choosing the best energy policy to be adopted; defining environmental, social, economic and health scenarios generated from energy and industrial settlements, climate change, coastal erosion and hydrogeological risk; making pollutant assessments and diagnostics of pollutants; site reclamation.

ENEA provides schools, enterprises and universities with training opportunities in such fields as energy, the environment, innovation technologies for agro-industry; materials, etc. , with the financial support of the European Union, the Italian Ministries, regional local administrations, and private actors. Training is provided in the form of masters, IFTS (higher integrated technical education and training) seminars, stages, fellowships, on-the-job training, e-learning. ENEA’s laboratories may well represent a qualified integration of the current training supply in Italy.

In the field of radioprotection, ENEA owns unique expertise and intervention skills and can fullfill all kind of needs related not only to the nuclear sector; the Institute for Radioprotection is one of the partners of the EU project ORAMED (Optimization of RAdiation Protection of MEDical staff) dedicated to health. It registers the highest individual doses as well as the highest contribution to the world average collective dose. ENEA is by law in charge of physical radioprotection surveillance.

ENEA is by law in charge of: ensuring that actual conditions exist for ionising radiation measurement to be reliable in all sectors of interest: radiotherapy, medical radiodiagnostics, radioprotection in the environment, hospitals and scientific research; carrying out procedures and tests for the homologation and calibration of gauging instruments. The organisation is member of the technical and advisory committee for nuclear security and health protection set up within the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers. INMRI

At the national level, ENEA is responsible for the management of non-electro-nuclear as well as medium- and low-level radioactive waste, in terms of collection, transport, characterisation, storage, treatment and conditioning. As for minimal residual radioactivity, a service of exempt disposal is provided. Other types of residual waste are treated and deposit-stored as long as the national disposal site is not available. The organisation addresses, coordinates, supervises and plans activities, identifies the types of waste acceptable in landfills and their appropriate packaging and transport.

Within its fields of expertise ENEA develops and puts specific analysis and assessment instruments at the disposal and in support of public and private operators working in the fields of energy, the environment and innovation.