BACKGROUND
The Enel Innovation Hub & Lab in Passo Martino, located in the province of Catania, is a strategic infrastructure for innovation in the energy sector. It serves as a meeting point between business, technology, and institutions, playing a central role in Enel’s open innovation ecosystem.
This cutting-edge experimental center covers more than 10 hectares, including 3,000 m² of indoor laboratories and 30,000 m² of outdoor testing areas. It is divided into two main technological areas:
· The Energy Storage and Grid Integration Lab, specialized in battery technologies and systems that are essential to the energy transition.
· The Solar Innovation Lab, which includes indoor and outdoor facilities for developing and testing next-generation photovoltaic technologies.
In addition to these testing infrastructures, the site hosts spaces dedicated to promoting Enel’s open innovation model, welcoming startups and organizing events to foster collaboration and synergy across the innovation ecosystem.
These areas highlight the activities of Enel’s global Hub network, partnerships with universities and research centers, and the Group’s open innovation programs, creating a dynamic environment for knowledge exchange and the co-development of new industrial and technological solutions.
CURRENT SITUATION
The Enel Innovation Lab & Hub in Catania serves as one of the Group’s most strategic infrastructures for innovation in the energy sector. It acts as a meeting point between research, business, startups, and institutions, playing a key role in accelerating the development and testing of new technologies that support Enel’s decarbonization and digital transformation goals.
Every year, the Lab attracts a diverse range of visitors:
- Academic and scientific communities, including students and professors from Sicilian universities and technical schools;
- National and international research centers, collaborating with Enel on R&D and innovation projects;
- Startups and industrial partners, involved in co-development or pilot initiatives;
- And, increasingly, media representatives and institutional delegations, interested in learning about the technologies and projects being developed.
Currently, visits are conducted in person, guided by the Innovation Lab Manager and various Enel experts who provide explanations about the research areas, pilot projects, testing facilities, and the broader innovation ecosystem connected to the Hub.
While this approach allows for a personalized and informative experience, it also requires significant coordination and time from the staff, and the content shared often depends on the availability and expertise of the individual guides.
The goal is to enhance these opportunities with autonomous and synergistic pathways both digital and physical, that can effectively communicate the Lab’s innovation across all themes making the visit experience more engaging, consistent, and scalable.
Such a solution would not only improve the accessibility and efficiency of visits but also help communicate Enel’s innovation story in a dynamic, inclusive, and data-driven way.
LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING SOLUTIONS: THE NEED FOR INNOVATION
While the current visit model ensures a personalized and informative experience, it also presents several limitations:
- Lack of standardization: The content and depth of explanations vary depending on the guide’s background and time constraints, leading to inconsistent visitor experiences.
- Limited scalability: With increasing interest from research institutions, startups, and media, the current format cannot easily accommodate a larger or more diverse audience.
- Low digital engagement: Visitors rely primarily on verbal explanations and static displays; there is limited use of interactive tools or digital storytelling to explore projects and technologies in depth.
- Reduced visibility of the broader ecosystem: The Lab is part of a global innovation network, but this connection is not fully represented during on-site visits, limiting the understanding of Enel’s international open innovation strategy.
- Minimal data collection: There are no systematic tools to track visitor flows, measure engagement, or gather feedback, making it difficult to evaluate and improve the visitor experience over time.
THE CHALLENGE
The challenge objective is finding design solutions to improve the experience of the Innovation Lab & Hub in Catania across multiple dimensions: spatial, experiential, technological, and communicative.
From space and pathway design to digital and interactive experiences, the aim is to create a site-specific journey into innovation that is accessible to all types of guests: students, research centers, startups, major players, SMEs, institutional representatives, and colleagues.
The proposal should address the following needs:
- ENHANCE THE INNOVATION AND EXPERTISE OF THE SITE
Innovation at Enel is a strategic lever for business, and Passo Martino is a reference center for innovation in solar and battery technologies, with advanced technologies and specialists in these fields.
- CREATE AN INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE THAT IMPROVES ACCESSIBILITY
Provide physical and/or digital tools to build a journey through the site that offers clear, functional, and effective information tailored to different target audiences.
- GENERATE AN EXPERIENTIAL PATHWAY TO ENGAGE STAKEHOLDERS
Not just a visit, but an immersive experience within the Lab that resonates with each audience’s needs: journalists, students, scientists, and general visitors.
- ENHANCE MULTISENSORY INTERACTION AND ACCESSIBILITY
Content and information are meaningless if visitors cannot access them effectively. It is therefore essential to ensure accessibility in all or most of its forms.
- STRENGTHEN THE LAB’S COMMUNICATION
Design physical and digital tools capable of conveying key messages to different audiences without overwhelming the space.
- CONNECT WITH THE LOCAL TERRITORY
A center that is integrated with the environmental and community context in which it operates.
MUST HAVE:
The challenge aims to identify an innovative design concept that is:
· Site-specific design
The proposal must be conceived specifically for the Catania Innovation Hub & Lab, considering its architecture, functions, technological areas (Solar Innovation Lab and Energy Storage Lab). For further details on this aspect, see in attached Annex 2 (Layout PM Innovation Lab, the complete site plan to understand spatial organization and key areas within the Hub & Lab) and Annex 3 Catania Lab Note.
· Improve the Lab Visit
The solution must improve and integrate the storytelling and guided tour experience efficiently by providing digital, physical, or phygital tools capable of combining text, images, videos, 3D models, interactive maps, and any other necessary resources to support Enel experts in communicating complex content clearly and engagingly. The solution should include a flexible structure with modular content and pathways, based on different levels of technical detail and customized for the lab’s various stakeholders: universities and students, innovation experts, startups, and energy companies. The goal is to enrich storytelling and foster engagement.
· Integration of physical and digital elements
The experience may be developed as a physical solution, a digital solution, or a combination of both. Physical components (installations, signage, interactive models, etc.) and digital tools (touchpoints, projections, connected interfaces, etc.) can be used independently or integrated into a coherent and complementary visitor experience. The design should allow visitors to explore spaces and laboratories virtually or through interactive elements, showcasing real projects and technologies in a responsive and user-friendly ways across multiple devices (tablet, kiosk, smartphone, desktop).
· Accessibility and inclusivity
The solution must respect universal accessibility standards, ensuring usability for visitors with different physical, sensory, or cognitive abilities.
· Bilingual content: all content must be available in Italian and English
· Ease of maintenance, updating, and implementation
The solution should be easy to maintain and update over time, allowing simple modifications to content (texts, images, media) without requiring specialized technical skills. It should also be straightforward to implement within the existing operational environment of the Catania Innovation Hub & Lab.
· Sustainability
Preference should be given to low-impact materials, energy-efficient systems, and design choices that minimize environmental footprint.
· The solution must be consistent with Enel’s brand identity.
For further details, please refer to the guidelines provided in Annex 1
NICE TO HAVE:
· The concept design should be adaptable and scalable for potential application in other Enel Innovation Lab or visitor environments, such as indoor and outdoor exhibition areas, demo spaces, or other locations used for guided visits. Modular or reconfigurable design adaptable to different spaces or future updates.
· Multisensory components with interactive or immersive environments able to display live data or experimental outputs in an engaging way.
· Smart features enabling visitor feedback, engagement metrics, or performance tracking.
· Integration with Enel’s broader innovation network, connecting the Catania Hub to other sites or initiatives.
· A preliminary feasibility indication covering possible technical solutions (for example, available materials or commercial components) and an approximate cost estimate may be provided to support the practicality of the concept.
DELIVERABLES:
· An innovative concept design that clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed solution(s) in improving the experience guided tours at the Innovation Hub & Lab in Catania, in alignment with the Must Have required.
· An Interactive prototype featuring different visitor journeys
A simple interactive model or storyboard that demonstrates how various user profiles (students, partners, institutions) interact with the solution.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
The proposals will be evaluated based on:
ü Consistency with the Challenge’s objectives and deliverables
ü Innovation and creativity
ü Design quality: (e.g.clarity, functionality, aesthetic)
ü Technical and economic feasibility: feasible design and sustainability cost
ü Sustainability and circularity
ü Communication and storytelling, consistency with Enel brand toolkit guideline
