Massimo Battaini, COO Prysmian Group, a #MadeinItalySummit Il Sole 24 Ore, Financial Times

Thank you very much everyone. The digital and ecological transformation represents more than 40 percent of the recovery plan. These transition funds will focus on operators and the rollout of new systems that will create new jobs and employment. So I believe that in the next 5 to 10 years we will see very significant capex regarding the supply of clean energy from one place to another. Clean energy is often produced, for example, in offshore wind farms, for instance in the North Sea. And then this energy arrives in the more densely populated areas, in the big cities. Let me explain how this system works. Less than 20 percent of the total energy generated in Europe is renewable at the moment, and Italy is right at the average in this regard. This percentage will increase to more than 35 percent in the coming years. By 2050, it will reach more than 50 percent. The goal is to reach net-zero emissions, and obviously to respect the Paris agreements. Prysmian is a global leader, and the goal is to enable this transition. We want to be a technological reference point for this transition toward a decarbonized economy. More than 50 percent of our company's revenue comes from products that facilitate and support this economy that doesn't produce CO2 emissions. We are investing in this direction, using our funds to innovate, to test new technologies, new high-voltage cables, greater sustainability from clean energy production to the end user.

Sometimes there are very significant distances, so there's a need for many cables and connections. In Italy and Europe, we have major high-voltage facilities that produce thousands of kilometers of cable every year, enabling the transfer of energy from one place to another. In Milan, Italy, at our Messina site, we have our main hub for both telecommunications cables and energy transmission cables.

Yes, definitely. Digitalization is a global trend, a demand that is associated with an ever-increasing need for broadband and internet connectivity. There are data processing centers, including real estate, that are essential for end users. This trend isn't new—it started a few years ago—but during the pandemic, we saw an acceleration of these technologies. During the longer periods of confinement, travel restrictions prevented people and businesses from traveling and meeting in person. This led to a surge in data traffic, with a great exchange of telecommunications. Another lesson we learned from COVID-19 is that we can contribute to a greener economy through digital technologies. The only technologies that can meet these very high standards and demands are fiber optic cables, and we are a global leader with a strong presence in Europe and North America in this type of cable. Research and development are fundamental for fiber optics, and it is essential that Italy continues to invest in these technologies to remain competitive in this very fast-growing market. We want to remain a global leader, and we focus on the development of fiber optic cables and better connectivity. This is what we've done through our five production facilities worldwide: one in North America, one in South America, and three in Europe, one of which is located in Italy, in Campania in the south, producing 10 million kilometers of fiber optic cables every year.

There are definitely some barriers. The lack of a forward-looking plan, political instability—these are the main obstacles that can slow down or even block the ecological and digital transition. All of these developments we've discussed require significant investments from cable companies, telecommunications companies, and suppliers. Without a clear plan and clear sustainable goals, companies struggle to finance this type of project on a large scale. I've rarely seen these conditions in Italy, which very often has a very volatile market with external governmental conditions that make the situation difficult. And in some cases, both in Italy and in Europe, we face competition from the Far East—companies that come to Italy, buy fiber optic cables, and bundle them with their own competing products, reaching the end customer at much lower prices than ours. Despite these adverse conditions, Prysmian wants to maintain strategic production in Italy, investing more than 17 million euros in the production facility in Campania. We're investing in fiber optic technologies and greater production capacity, as well as in our Milan center. We invest one million euros a year in new technologies. Last but not least, we are about to receive new investments on top of the 100 million euros per year I mentioned, and we will reach installations funded by more than 200 million euros in total per year. So this is a very significant investment in Italy and Europe, because we want to strengthen our technological leadership and improve our international collaborations. But we also need a favorable external environment, economic stability. In addition, we need more action and effort from local institutions and consumers in the development of green technologies.

I want to say that we should be proud to be Italian, proud of these technologies and these developments. Sometimes we underestimate Italy for reasons I don't understand, but there are industrial excellences in Italy that work and must be supported and further developed so that Italy can be an important actor industrially and in the business world at the international level.