The CRAEM facility in Marina di Ravenna is an industrial research outpost dedicated to technologies for the environment, energy and Sustainable Blue Growth. Since July 2021, following an agreement between the Municipality of Ravenna, the University of Bologna and Fondazione Flaminia, the Environment, Energy and Marine Research Centre has been integrated into the Ravenna Technopole. Its research now focuses on key areas such as sustainability, decarbonisation and the circular economy.

The origins of the Centre, which has a strong bond with the local area in its very DNA, date back to the 1990s, when the entrepreneur Raul Gardini first envisioned Ravenna as a leading city for environmental excellence. And so, in 1993, the Research Centre was established, with the name the Montecatini Environmental Research Centre, dedicated to biomass energy and environmental protection. Today, that innovative spirit lives on in CRAEM, reaffirming the region’s role as a hub for advanced research and sustainable development.

The site hosts industrial research laboratories, offices and innovation spaces linked to the following centres:

CIRI-FRAME (Renewable resources, Environment, Sea and Energy)

• FIP-WE@UNIBO (Fraunhofer Innovation Platform for Waste Valorisation and Future Energy Supply at University of Bologna)
• EnerCube laboratory, dedicated to scaling up production and recycling processes for components and cells in electrochemical energy storage and conversion systems
• Catalysis for Renewable and Innovative Process (Care in Process), for hydrogen production and the utilisation of carbon dioxide through renewable energy technologies

• “SafetySensors” Laboratory”, part of SSAILL – Safety, Sensors and Automation for Innovation in Logistics and Work, one of the spokes of the Bologna City Council’s Casa delle Tecnologie Emergenti (House of Emerging Technologies) project (CTE-COBO)

CRAEM also hosts Ravenna InnovationLAB, a technology incubator and coworking space managed by the Municipality of Ravenna.

The incubator supports the launch and development of innovative businesses working in strategic fields including decarbonisation and energy sustainability, green energy, the circular economy, the blue economy and green chemistry. Companies selected through an invitation to tender enter an 18‑month programme that provides dedicated workspaces, managerial support services and specialist consultancy. The goal is to stimulate the growth of new entrepreneurial ventures by supporting their market entry and their integration into a wider research and innovation ecosystem.

A coworking area, open until 2028, and a 54-seat conference room for events and networking opportunities complete the space.

Address: Viale Ciro Menotti, 48 – Marina di Ravenna (RA)
For further information: Sabrina – smascia@fondazioneflaminia.it, Elisa – craem@cifla.it