The ExaDrone project is born in the heart of the Brasimone Research Centre of ENEA, one of the most important research centres in Italy and internationally. It is formulated by the partnership between ENEA, the national body for new technologies and sustainable energy, and METAPROJECTS, the research body in electronic engineering.

The ExaDrone Project has a dual soul, which fused together gives life to a unique reality of its kind.

The first soul is the Accademy, unique in its kind because it is owned by the Public Administration and recognized by ENAC (ENAC.UAS-RE.085 ENEA). Provides theoretical and practical training, providing flight qualification, from amateur to professional flying for operations in critical scenarios.  The Academy provides a complete course package for all needs, taught by top-class lecturers. It is possible to take theoretical examinations in "proctored mode" with the aim of obtaining all individual flight ratings, and to attend all specialist courses, Useful if you want to expand your portfolio and enter the professional world that requires certain skills and high standards.

The second core is the Automation and Control Laboratory, capable of providing a development service aimed at applications, sensors and software ad hoc for any scenario in which the drone will operate. This is possible thanks to the support of the R&D department, able to spread in every desired area, approaching projects with an open mind towards innovation and environmental sustainability.

The whole together gives life to a unique reality, with a professional service at a high level and above all 360°.

The mission is to provide an excellent training, leading the student to be confident of their skills and operate at professional levels, from the beginning. This excellent training can only be carried out in a place rich in knowledge and research such as the Brasimone Research Centre of ENEA. It is home to brilliant minds, including engineering firms, researchers and doctoral students from all over Italy. Immersed in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, an environment that transmits tranquility and makes it pleasant to fly admiring naturalistic landscapes of level, such as the Lake Brasimone.

The ExaDrone Project is the result of a partnership between METAPROJECTS Scientific Research and the Innovative Projects Section of the Fusion and Nuclear Safety Technologies Department of the ENEA. The Project was financed by the Emilia-Romagna Region with 581,000 euros out of a total of 775,000 euros, under a memorandum of understanding signed between ENEA, Emilia-Romagna Region and Tuscany Region (DGR N.545 of 08/04/2019). With the financial contribution to the ExaDrone Project from the Emilia-Romagna Region and with the agreement signed in December 2020 between ENEA and METAPROJECTS, a collaboration program has been validated with shared resources management modalities. The skills and resources of both, build a theoretical-practical basis of advanced mechatronics.

On 15th January 2019, on the occasion of the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Tuscany Region and ENEA, an agreement was reached that lays the foundations for supporting the relaunch and enhancement of the Brasimone Research Centre of ENEA in the province of Bologna, By promoting projects with significant employment and socio-economic impact. The joint development plan, once implemented, foresees investments of up to 100 million euros in the period 2018-2025, with a significant increase in new jobs directly and indirectly in the area.  At this event there was a meeting between Dr. Federico Testa (ENEA's President), Engr. Mariano Tarantino (ENEA Brasimone's Head of Experimental Engineering), and Engr. Paolo Tassin (METAPROJECTS's President and Technical Director).  In the following meetings, technical collaboration was established to support the electronic design of control systems for nuclear installations.  METAPROJECTS already operating in the electronic design and use of drones, finds in the skill of ENEA Brasimone an ideal complement to the complete design of special drones. ENEA boasting of an open and innovative mentality, has welcomed and enhanced this project opening up new technological opportunities with a potential employment increase of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines and the related enhancement of the surrounding territory. Having, the Brasimone Research Center, high C.F.D (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation skills applicable to the aerodynamic design of drones, knowledge of technology and materials physics, They were an ideal complement to the METAPROJECTS' electronic engineering expertise. To complement the above skills and resources of laboratory and personnel, it was possible to build a laboratory of excellence for the design of special drones. The proposal of the project, called "ExaDrone" by Engr. Mariano Tarantino, was well received by the Emilia-Romagna Region. The official presentation took place at the event on 5th May 2019.  The approval and funding were submitted on 30th October 2019 with great efficiency and timing.  The result was achieved in 180 days, demonstrating the efficiency and strategy of the Emilia-Romagna Region.

Since October 2019, despite the difficulties of the Covid-19 period, the organization of ExaDrone Academy has been carried out and the construction of infrastructures has been completed.  Some projects have been carried out in the field of monitoring, weighing and sensor-i sing in nuclear environments.  Currently, the collaboration with the Diagnostic and Metrology Laboratory of the ENEA’s Frascati Research Center is underway for a new project on a laser sensor for drones for monitoring seas and works of art.  In addition, through the collaboration with the Frascati Neutron Generator Laboratory (FNG) of ENEA, work is being carried out on the design and testing of a new nuclear sensor for drones.  Following the accident of the Morandi bridge in Genoa, a project is underway for a special drone with innovative features to monitor infrastructure such as bridges, viaducts and roads.  Finally, ENEA and METAPROJECTS are participants and collaborators in the C.B.R.N..  With the recent agreement signed in December 2020 between ENEA and METAPROJECTS, a collaboration program has been validated with the modalities of shared resources management that will be valid for the next 5 years.

On 23th November 2022, the new two-storey building was inaugurated, within the ENEA’s Brasimone Research Centre, which hosts the ExaDrone Academy (ENAC.UAS-RE.08 ENEA), an entity recognised by ENAC under the terms of the Regulation (EU) 2019/947 which provides practical training to Remote pilots, and the Automation and Control Laboratory, in which research and development for electronic and drone design is carried out. In a branch office, but always within the ENEA's Research Center Brasimone, is available the Flight Field of 1500 hectares, where all practical activities of flight take place, and at Villa Ruggeri the examination room and conference room.

ExaDrone Academy (ENAC.UAS-RE.085 ENEA) provides a service for theoretical and practical training in flying with drones, and is open to all those who want to take a new path. The ENEA-owned Academy is managed by METAPROJECTS, by engr. Paolo Tassin (TC Training Coordinator), and by ENEA, by Engr. Mariano Tarantino (RE Accountable Manager) and by Engr. Mirko Farini (SA Safety Adviser), the latter then replaced by Engr. Marco Lamberti.

In the Automation and Control Laboratory, many activities are carried out, including mechatronic and aerodynamic design with CFD simulation, design and construction of drones equipped with advanced sensors for monitoring concrete structures and/or nuclear sites, research and consultancy in embedded electronic design based on functional models of predictive simulation, product development and industrialization, firmware and software applications and certification support for product marketing. In the recent period, some important design goals have been achieved in the field of research and development, regarding applications for and with drones and embedded electronic engineering. Some of the projects were made possible only through partnerships with relevant national companies and universities. The Automation and Control Laboratory carries out its research and mechatronic design activities at the service of other ENEA divisions and external business entities. The objective is to contribute to research, with a laboratory of excellence and extended expertise in electronic engineering applied to drones and embedded systems.