Over 4,000 Italian teams responded to the invitation made by Red Bull Basement, the international event that brings together a new generation of innovators ready to conceive, develop and launch their ideas with the acceleration of AI.

Innovators and emerging entrepreneurs from all over Italy presented new-generation ideas and solutions and, after examining all the entries, the national jury selected the winning idea: it is ‘BatterIT’ presented by Andrea Berti, a PhD student in Nanotechnology at UniTS, and Andrea Miotto, currently employed at Ferrari in the Marketing and Finance sector.

They will therefore represent Italy at the Red Bull Basement World Final in Tokyo from 2nd to 5th December 2024.

Despite the high quality of the finalist entries, which made the choice truly challenging, the jury was unanimous in awarding victory to BatterIT, an innovative hybrid motor that combines a sodium battery and a combustion engine.

Unlike lithium batteries, sodium batteries are made from abundant and low-cost materials such as salt and are fully recyclable, non-flammable and non-toxic to humans while maintaining their efficiency over a longer lifetime. Based on these advantages, BatterIT paves the way for greener, safer and more durable solutions in the electrified transport sector.

‘Our idea is unique because it focuses on an under-explored area that nevertheless presents great opportunities: the application of sodium batteries in the transport sector,’ the winners explain. ’Although this technology is rooted in decades of development and has significant potential, research in the automotive sector is still limited and few companies are actively working on its real possibilities.

‘BatterIT has the potential to transform the world of transport by directly addressing one of the most pressing needs in the automotive market: the demand for safer and more sustainable hybrid solutions. Sodium batteries, with their reliability, affordability, environmental safety and recyclability, offer an attractive alternative to traditional lithium technologies. By reducing dependence on scarce, expensive and polluting materials, they not only

make green energy more accessible but also achieve a significant reduction in CO₂ emissions during the production and extraction processes.

This makes our solution a game-changer in the world of sustainable mobility, able to accelerate the transition to cleaner and more inclusive energy systems,' they conclude.