Fostering innovation in Tunisia: Terna unveils Innovation Zone and startup initiative

The links that have existed between the two sides of the Mediterranean for millennia, the central role given to Tunisia in the Mattei Plan, and the dynamism of the renewable energy sector and international energy interconnections: all these formed the backdrop to the opening of the Terna Innovation Zone in Tunisia. At the first innovation hub managed by the Italian TSO in Africa, the emphasis is on energy transition, specialist training, the sharing of technology and open innovation.

The hub was inaugurated in a major event on 29 January, in the capital city of Tunisia. Taking part were Giuseppina Di Foggia, Chief Administrative Officer and General Manager of Terna; Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Italian Minister of the Environment and Energy Security; Mohamed Ali Nafti, Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad; Fabrizio Saggio, coordinator of the Mattei Plan and diplomatic advisor to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni; Wael Chouchane, Tunisian Secretary of State for Energy Transition; Tarifa Faycel, Chief Executive Officer of STEG, the national operator of the Tunisian gas and electricity grid and Terna’s privileged partner in the Elmed project and the Innovation Zone; and Alessandro Prunas, the Italian ambassador to Tunisia.

A few weeks later, on 12 February, the project started with an Innovation Summit also held in the Tunisian capital, at which the Global Scaleup Program was launched.

The exchange of technological skills, the development of renewables, a fair and tangible transition, the training of new professionals for the energy sector, the resilience of transmission grids and international connections: all these are at the heart of the partnership between Italy and Tunisia, and of the projects pursued by Terna on the African continent. The Innovation Zone fits perfectly into this trend of strengthening the partnerships and the dynamism between the two sides of the Mediterranean, as illustrated and accelerated by the Mattei Plan. The projects involved include Elmed, the high-voltage DC submarine power line which constitutes the main infrastructure in the Terna-STEG collaboration, and the Innovation Zone, which will train the engineers and technicians essential for management of the transmission grids and the increasingly advanced technological processes that will represent the future of energy.

«By strengthening the strategic partnership between Italy and Tunisia, the Terna Innovation Zone in Tunis aims to spur on innovation and develop skills in the energy and technology sector for both countries. The Terna Innovation Zone in Tunis, as part of the broader Mattei Plan, is an initiative in synergy with and paving the way for the so-called Elmed Project. The latter will connect the electricity systems of Europe and North Africa for the first time, creating the first energy bridge between our two continents across the Mediterranean», explained Terna’s CEO in her speech.

«Terna will provide the technological expertise needed to manage the first DC energy bridge between the two continents by sharing its skills. Terna and STEG will be able to work in synergy to manage the complexity of integrating renewables due to their intermittent, non-programmable, and spread-out nature, which requires smart, digitised grids. In this way, STEG will play a pioneering role as a leader in North Africa», noted Di Foggia on the fringes of the presentation, highlighting the importance of managing projects of this scale, which are crucial for the development of increasingly resilient electricity systems in Africa and in Europe.

Shared ideas, skills, technologies, and growth are all part of the collaboration between Italy and Tunisia in a variety of fields, particularly in the energy sector, continued the Italian Minister of the Environment and Energy Security, Pichetto Fratin. «Italy is supporting Tunisia’s journey towards energy transition through a partnership that offers opportunities for both countries to grow in the spirit of the Mattei Plan. It is in this context that we see strategic projects take shape, starting with the Elmed energy bridge between Africa and Europe, and the Southern Hydrogen Corridor», added the minister, emphasising the need to carry on travelling in this direction.

«We must keep working for the promotion of renewables, supply security, growth and investments, while making experience and skills available to further encourage the most favourable conditions for generating renewable energy in Tunisia, developing the market and attracting investments», continued the minister. «The Terna Innovation Zone is a hub for training highly specialised human capital and is also linked to Italy’s global commitment to a secure and sustainable energy transition, in which training and innovation are exactly what is needed for more secure, decarbonised energy systems».

These ambitious goals have a solid foundation to build on in the Terna Innovation Zone. In addition to the physical location, in the space shared with the Italian Cultural Institute in Tunis and the Tunisian-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is a virtual one which will hold training courses for professionals in the sector, alongside local universities and the ENIT (École nationale d'ingénieurs de Tunis) engineering school. Moreover, incubation schemes will be held for the Tunisian startups selected in a call for startups in February, which will have the chance to access the international ecosystem of collaborations made available by Terna.

During the inauguration of Terna’s innovation hub, the unity of purpose shared by the Italian and Tunisian partners in the energy transition sector was plain to see. Confirmation of this came from Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs Nafti, speaking from the podium: «We see promising signs ahead for strengthening the collaboration between our two countries. This new dimension in our partnership is demonstrated, among other things, by the Terna Innovation Zone, which will open up new frontiers for furthering the cooperation between Italy and Tunisia in the field of technological innovation, attracting and training talent for the energy sector, and supporting startups. In this way, we can respond to the challenges of employment and sustainable development in our country, while helping our industry grow in the direction of renewables: a true win-win situation for Rome and Carthage».

Chouchane, the Tunisian Secretary of State for Energy Transition at the Ministry of Industry, touched on the same key concepts when he defined the Terna Innovation Zone as «a strategic initiative», which «will play a vital role in accelerating the implementation of the Elmed electrical interconnection project, strengthening energy security, and promoting technological innovation in the sector "while acting as" a catalyst for research, development and collaborations between universities, research institutions and industrial players, to create a national market for energy transition».

Ambassador Prunas, opening the event, was eager to emphasise the central importance of the «partnership between Italy and Tunisia and of the Mattei Plan, which pursues shared growth, a project in which Tunisia has a high priority». In this context, «the energy partnership is one of the most important and promising ones», he continued, «and I am certain that the combined expertise of Terna and STEG will yield tangible, positive results for all». Indeed, an extension of the cooperation agreement between STEG and Terna was also celebrated during the event.

The Terna-Steg partnership. The CEO of the Tunisian TSO, Tarifa, reflected that while Elmed «is heading in the right direction to be completed by 2028», the cooperation between the two companies is expanding and includes the «creation of a testing centre for high-voltage equipment, to train STEG technicians» in various sectors which are essential to the maintenance of high-voltage and extra-high-voltage equipment and infrastructure. «We are confident that our collaboration will be long-lasting and fruitful, just as our interconnection will be long-lasting and robust», concluded the CEO of STEG.

The Innovation Summit: an ecosystem of support for startups. The goal of the day’s event, dedicated to open innovation and startups, was to lay the foundations for a dynamic way forward, to make Tunisia a regional hub for the future of energy. B2B meetings, workshops and panels dedicated to specific topics all formed part of the day organised by the International Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Terna, Mind the Bridge and Elis. The event brought together a structured ecosystem of entrepreneurs, startups, investors and decision-makers to shape the future of innovation in Tunisia, confirming the strategic role of this North African country.

During the Summit, the Terna Innovation Zone launched the Global Scaleup Program: a programme that aims to help Tunisian startups to connect through international networks, expand their global presence and access strategic resources and investments. For Carla Napolitano, Head of Innovation at Terna, the Innovation Summit showed how «we are contributing to the development of Tunisian startups and to the strengthening of entrepreneurship, actively supporting Tunisia’s transformation into a benchmark hub for open innovation in the North African area». The numbers are promising: over 50 startups and scaleups have joined the programme, while five will be selected and granted access to a dedicated plan for entry to international markets.