A robotic arm mounts solar cells onto photovoltaic panels, at a  ‘gigafactory’ in Catania, Italy, which was the first in Europe to manufacture photovoltaic panels that produce solar energy from both sides. The plant’s operators plan to manufacture sufficient panels each year to generate three gigawatts of energy (a gigawatt is a massive amount of energy, equalling one billion watts).
2023 Photo Contest, Europe, Long-Term Projects

Net-Zero Transition

Photographer

Simone Tramonte

14 July, 2021

A robotic arm mounts solar cells onto photovoltaic panels, at a  ‘gigafactory’ in Catania, Italy, which was the first in Europe to manufacture photovoltaic panels that produce solar energy from both sides. The plant’s operators plan to manufacture sufficient panels each year to generate three gigawatts of energy (a gigawatt is a massive amount of energy, equalling one billion watts).

This project documents different technologies that offer possible routes of transition to a net-zero economy. The photographer visited innovative facilities across Europe, from Iceland to Italy, from 2020 to 2022.

Human-induced climate change is the largest, most pervasive threat to the natural environment and society that the world has ever experienced, according to the UN Human Rights Office, OHCHR. This prompted the European Union to establish targets to cut greenhouse emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 and to reduce them to net-zero by 2050. European companies seeking ways to achieve these goals are exploring renewable energies, new technologies for food production, and the circular economy as potential ways forward.

Simone Tramonte
About the photographer

Simone Tramonte is a photographer whose work focuses on documenting social and environmental contemporary issues. His interest focuses on analyzing the relationship between people and the environment and aims to document how innovative technologies can shape them towards a more sustainable future.  After obtain...

Read the full biography
Technical information
Shutter Speed

1/30

ISO

800

Camera

Nikon D810

Jury comment

This project is an impressive example of solutions based journalism wherein the photographer's commitment to gaining access and incredible research offers a unique perspective into European efforts to secure a sustainable future. The project boasted beautiful aesthetics and its clinical scientific approach gives the audience space to visualize and conceptualize each solution without leading with emotion. The project is thought provoking and demonstrates the relationship between the scale of the crisis and the scale of solutions.