Ambassador Stefano Nicoletti participated in this year’s “Arctic Circle Assembly 2025,” held in Reykjavik from October 17 to 19.
On Friday, October 17, at Reykjavik University—in the presence of the Undersecretary of State for Defense, Senator Isabella Rauti—the Italian Ambassador to Norway and Iceland, Stefano Nicoletti, presented Professor Paolo Gargiulo, Full Professor and Director of the Institute of Biomedical and Neurological Engineering, with the honor of Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy (OSI).
The honor was awarded by the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, for his outstanding scientific work, which has had a significant impact on Iceland’s healthcare system, particularly through the application of 3D printing for pre-operative planning.
Professor Gargiulo has also promoted the community of young Italian scientists in Iceland, creating a center of excellence—called the “Italian Hub”—where a dozen Italian researchers work. Professor Gargiulo is also the co-founder of “Heilalabs,” a startup that seeks to study brain aging processes and develop new predictive models for the early detection of neurodegenerative diseases.
On Sunday, Ambassador Stefano Nicoletti spoke at the “Superhot Geothermal Summit,” organized by the Icelandic Minister of Environment and Energy, Johann Pál Jóhannsson, on the sidelines of the “Arctic Circle Assembly 2025.” In his remarks, the Ambassador conveyed greetings from the Minister of Environment and Energy Security, Pichetto Fratin, and outlined Italy’s experiences in researching and exploiting geothermal energy from high-temperature sources, as well as the European Union’s recent focus on geothermal energy as a low-carbon energy source.
In a specific session dedicated to the prospects for Italian research and industry in this field, Paolo Papale of the INGV (National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology) focused on the role of Italian science in advancing projects for the study of high-temperature geothermal energy, such as the Krafla Magma Testbed (KMT, for magma study), the Descramble (for developing drilling technologies), and the Compass project.
On the industry front, Marco Consumi of Enel, head of innovation in the hydroelectric and geothermal sectors, presented the Italian energy company’s perspective on the development of high-temperature geothermal energy in Italy, particularly at the historic Larderello site in Tuscany.
