Italcer Group at the forefront of Italian eco-innovation
Italcer, Italy’s leading high-end ceramics group, took part at the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy in the presentation of the report “Competitive because Sustainable. Geography of Made in Italy Eco-Innovation”, promoted by Fondazione Symbola and Unioncamere, in collaboration with the Guglielmo Tagliacarne Institute and DINTEC – Consortium for Technological Innovation.
The proceedings were introduced by Ermete Realacci, President of Fondazione Symbola, and Giuseppe Tripoli, Secretary General of Unioncamere, in the presence of architect Domenico Sturabotti, Director of Symbola Foundation for Italian Quality. The report data were presented by Antonio Romeo, Head of the Innovation and Digital Area at Unioncamere, followed by the closing remarks of Adolfo Urso, Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy.
The report analyzes Italian eco-innovation through the study of green patents, highlighting the sectors and regions where sustainability is most strongly concentrated. The data confirm Italy among the top three European countries for the number of environmental patents and their diffusion among companies, linking sustainability and competitiveness of Made in Italy. Green patent applications in Italy have increased significantly by 55.6% from 2016 to 2024, underscoring a growing commitment to sustainability.
Italcer, a Benefit Corporation backed by Mindful Capital Partners, Miura Partners and Capital Dynamics, is mentioned among the top 10 green companies thanks to its groundbreaking patent, which transforms emissions from a “hard to abate” sector such as ceramics—characterized by very high-temperature kilns and high energy consumption—into new high value-added raw materials. Italcer is therefore positioned as a potential technology player in industrial decarbonization.
The technology developed and patented by Italcer is capable not only of completely eliminating emissions from its plants, but also of converting them into new high value-added raw materials, generating new market opportunities and a significant competitive advantage.
A unique innovation on an international level, supported by the EU with over €4 million, which opens up licensing opportunities for sectors such as glass, bricks, construction and automotive. This technology captures and converts exhaust gases (CO2 and other compounds) into precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) for the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries, calcium nitrate useful for fertilizers, calcium sulfite for the food industry, and gypsum. A “zero kilometer” product with no transport costs, the process fully eliminates emissions, recovers 2,000 liters/hour of water and 750 kW thermal/hour of heat, reintegrating them into the production cycle.
With the first plant, if laboratory tests are confirmed, Italcer will generate approximately 10,000 tons per year of secondary raw materials, avoiding over 5,000 tons of CO2, with prospects of €100 million in additional revenues.
Graziano Verdi, CEO of Italcer, stated: “This technology represents the realization of a long-term strategy that Italcer has embraced for years, fully aligned with our mission to produce high-end ceramics in a sustainable and innovative way. It is not a reactive response to regulations—which, moreover, are far too restrictive with regard to the use of natural gas, which to date remains the only viable solution—but rather a structured commitment to turning environmental challenges into competitive opportunities, creating value for the company, our stakeholders, and the entire industrial ecosystem.”
February 2026 – www.gruppoitalcer.it
