The delegation’s spokesperson will be IIT’s Vice Scientific Director, researcher Athanassia Athanassiou, who coordinates the Institute’s Flagship programme dedicated to technologies for sustainability
The Italian Institute of Technology’s (IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia) commitment to caring for and safeguarding the planet will be presented at the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, with a talk by IIT’s Vice Scientific Director, researcher Athanassia Athanassiou. Athanassiou will speak on 9 November at 3:30 p.m. at the Italy Pavilion in the Blue Zone, during the event “Technologies and Alliances for Sustainability: From Research to Delivery”. During the event, technologies for sustainability and the energy transition will be showcased. Created in IIT’s laboratories and further developed through collaborations with companies, these technologies aim to become practical solutions that can contribute to a more sustainable, climate-resilient future and improve human well-being. These range from bioplastics obtained by processing industrial production waste to materials for coral care, bioinspired robots for reforestation and electrolysis cells for hydrogen production. Athanassiou will be accompanied by a small IIT delegation, to facilitate collaborations with companies and civil society.
The event organized by IIT is part of the programme of 40 meetings to be held at the Italy Pavilion, organized by the Italian Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE), with contributions from local and regional authorities, international organizations, associations, universities, research centers, think tanks and the private sector.
Sustainability is at the heart of one of IIT’s Flagship programmes – Technologies for Sustainability – which involves almost half of the Institute’s research units, 38 out of a total of 81, with the participation of more than 200 researchers. The Flagship’s activities are coordinated by Athanassia Athanassiou, IIT’s Vice Scientific Director and head of the Smart Materials group.
IIT’s scientific output in environmental sciences places the Institute second in Italy, after the CNR (out of 105 institutions), and sixteenth in the European Union (out of 1,102 institutions) (Scimago data, 2026). This research has led to the creation of five startup companies, with around ten further entrepreneurial initiatives in preparation in the energy and sustainable materials sectors. IIT coordinates or participates in more than twenty projects funded by the European Union, focused on robots with a low environmental impact, materials and the circular economy, carbon dioxide conversion, sustainable energy sources and the protection of marine life. In September 2026, IIT also opened a hub in Turin, together with Politecnico di Torino and Environment Park, comprising 5,000 square meters of state-of-the-art laboratories dedicated to research, development and technology transfer in the field of energy transition.
Vice Director Athanassiou will be accompanied by Piero Gamarra, Industrial Partnership Manager in the Technology Transfer Directorate; Livia Gelosi, Head of the Institutional Relations Office; Despoina Kossyvaki, Scientific Project Manager of the Technologies for Sustainability Flagship; and Elise Allix-Desfautaux, Junior Project Manager of the Technologies for Sustainability Flagship.
The technologies to be presented at COP31 will include new experimental materials obtained from olive oil production residues or based on mycelium, making use of food waste typical of the Mediterranean region to produce substitutes for fossil-based plastics. Particular attention will be given to AlkiPaper®, a family of paper-containing materials developed by Alkivio Srl Società Benefit, a startup established by IIT and the Italian company Novacart SpA. The material uses residues from paper converting and can be processed using industrial technologies employed for plastics. The researchers will also show the results of the collaboration between IIT and the Italian State Printing Office and Mint (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato) to synthesize compostable and biodegradable materials for use in identity documents, banknotes and supply chain traceability markers.
Several recent inventions will be presented in the energy sector. The world’s first rechargeable edible battery was developed in IIT’s laboratories in Milan using food ingredients such as capers, nori seaweed and activated charcoal. Designed to power small edible sensors for monitoring food preservation and for diagnostic applications, the technology is an example of how future electronics could degrade naturally, reducing the waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Alongside it, a new electrolysis cell will be shown that can produce green hydrogen and other high-value-added chemicals efficiently and sustainably, using new electrochemical processes. The technology, developed through IIT’s cutting-edge research, is now marketed by the startup Antares Electrolysis.
Finally, several solutions developed by IIT for the care and preservation of nature, from forests to marine ecosystems, will also be presented to the international audience. These include artificial seeds, that are bioinspired robots that can move without batteries by responding to changes in humidity and can be used to monitor pollutants in the soil and for reforestation. Biodegradable hydrogels based on renewable resources, for example red algae, to support plant growth in soilless agriculture. Biodegradable pastes from renewable materials developed to protect and restore coral reefs damaged by rising temperatures caused by climate change. These have already been tested on coral species typical of the tropical Indian Ocean and in the Maldives at the Marine Research and Higher Education Center.
Finally, a soft robotic gripper will be demonstrated, with movements and shapes inspired by an elephant’s trunk, making it a versatile device capable of grasping objects of different shapes from different directions. It could be used in the food industry or other sectors where one or more objects need to be handled gently.
IT’s participation in COP31 is intended as an opportunity to contribute to the international discussion on climate and sustainability by bringing practical technological solutions and interdisciplinary expertise. The delegation will aim to meet with representatives of institutions, businesses and civil society to understand their needs and encourage new collaborations.
