Everyone needs an excuse to go to Italy and now you have one – Solarexpo. Solarexpo in an international conference and expo on renewable energy and distributed generation. The event will be held on May 5-7, 2010 in Italy and as part of the event, is launching the R4R – Research for Renewables event.

R4R is a “research consortium” of sorts representing Italy’s entire range of renewable energy technologies. Organizations involved in research, technology developments, university spinoffs and innovative startups have the opportunity to be involved. The concept has been developed and managed in partnership with Galileia, a spinoff from the engineering faculty of the University of Padua that specializes in the energy sector.

“With the R4R project, Solarexpo is building on its innovative approach and continuing to create new spaces in which the vast worlds of renewable energy can come together. R4R is our way of engaging with parts of the renewables sector that would only be marginally interested in a traditional exhibition event: the world of research and new companies in the renewable energy field,” said Luca Zigale, scientific director of Solarexpo. “This is an environment that is evolving rapidly and is full of new talents, ideas and projects, but isn’t very visible for more established companies and public sector decision makers.”

Another interesting twist of the R4R is that is will have a dedicated hall in Solarexpo and 20 of the most promising startup companies will be selected to exhibit at no charge. In conjunction with the expo, a series of networking events, informational sessions and workshops will take place around two themes: “Research Day” and “Green Financing Day”.

But what may be the coolest thing about 4R4 is its support of young, innovative companies that have great ideas but not enough funding. This event will give these companies that audience they need to attract investments and bring these cutting-edge technologies to market.

You can learn more about the conference by clicking here.