Our Second Sun in the Dubai sky

Recognizing the beauty of “Made with Italy” and enriching it with our light: Enel X with the Italy Pavilion for Expo 2020

From the?Great Exhibition?of London in 1851 to the upcoming edition in Dubai, taking place for the first time in a country in the MENASA region: for 170 years, the?Expo?has been the inspirational stage?par excellence, the perfect showcase to?promote?innovative and collaborative ideas, to bring?shared value?to society.

This?vision?will again play a key role in the upcoming?Expo 2020 Dubai, with the main theme?Connecting Minds, Creating the Future,?which is developed?through three sub-themes –?opportunity,?mobility?and?sustainability?– that organize the exhibition spaces. We couldn’t help but smile when we found out the key words for Expo 2020: they seemed to fit us at Enel X perfectly, since we have chosen to?Transform opportunities into reality?from the very beginning.?

This very tangible?connection?to the event’s main themes is one of the reasons for our participation as?Official Partner Provider?for the Italy Pavilion at the World’s Fair, held in Dubai from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. This presence follows our significant experience at Expo 2015, when the Enel Group was Official Global Lighting Solutions Partner.

An Italy of opportunity and sustainability

“We all have the power to shape the future”. The way Expo 2020 communicates on its social channels is another?common factor?with our way of thinking. At Enel X, we work every day to overcome the global challenges of the?Paris Agreement : the World’s Fair in Dubai – the first global event post-pandemic – is a one-of-a-kind chance to promote?widespread models for the energy transition,?to shape a?truly sustainable future –?on a large scale and with a wide reach.?

Together with other renowned partners, we contributed to the?Italy Pavilion , located between the themed areas of “Opportunity” and “Sustainability”. This location is not only geographic: for visitors to the Expo,?combining?these two environments – creating new future-proof opportunities with sustainable solutions – is an invitation to discover not only the “Made in Italy” brand, but also the advantages of?Made with Italy, that is, an open platform to collaborate with the country’s best producers and cultural and creative players.

Connecting people with light

Enel X’s light?will accompany the?over 28,000?visitors expected each day through the Italian structure, an area of approximately 3,500 square meters, 25 meters high. In line with the claim?Beauty Connects People, chosen to direct Italy’s participation in Expo 2020, we designed two LED installations,?Second Sun?and?Second Moon, tangible examples of a new way of conceiving light:?digital?and?inclusive, able to connect to users’ emotions and – importantly – optimized to obtain the?greatest possible energy savings.

The system, created together with Pavilion designers Italo Rota and Carlo Ratti, includes two installations, each one five meters in diameter with approximately 320 LED RGB lights, created specifically for the Italy Pavilion. Every single LED board hosted in the hexagons will be managed by the control room to create evocative scenography in harmony with the Pavilion. Here, we will simulate the sun by illuminating every corner of the Pavilion and?recreating?spectacular backdrops,?changing the color temperature gradually over 24 hours. This change will be?tuned to people’s emotions: two cameras placed at the entrance and exit of the area, integrated with a IoT system, will allow us to measure the number of people in the structure in real time and detect their emotional state at the end of the visit.?

Camera feedback will interact with the installation, helping to?adjust?the backdrop of the sun and develop an?emotional storyline for the visit, for a completely unique experience. The beauty of our solution for Expo 2020 connects to the beauty of people, who are starting to move side by side again. We truly believe that?beauty,?innovation and sustainability?can all go together.

From inspiration to reality

For Enel X, connecting minds also means?pointing them?toward?responsible choices?aimed at sustainable urban development. This is why the Italy Pavilion will also feature a?Smart Metering?system, which will allow us to simulate the?real-time?monitoring of the daily arc of?consumption?in the home environment.?

Digitalization is a pillar of sustainable urban development, and the electronic meter becomes the home terminal of the Smart Grid, a key tool to make the customer aware of real-time consumption and help them choose innovation in a market that is increasingly more flexible and conscious.?

What we’ll demonstrate to Expo 2020 visitors is not just an idea: it is reality in everyday life, for those working at Enel X and for our customers. The solutions presented in the Italy Pavilion are a way to show off our?innovative approach?to the world. Today, our light makes the streets of?over 3,300 cities?around the world more sustainable, safe and smart city-approved. One-of-a-kind sites – like the?Pantheon ?in Rome, and?Alcázar , in Seville – are?preserved and appreciated?through our solutions for architectural lighting.?

We are aware that the fight against climate change is fought in urban centers above all, placing lighting within a?broader ecosystem of solutions?to turn the major challenges of today –?decarbonization, climate change, urbanization?– into?opportunities?to build a new model of sustainable development.?