Power company Enel has signed up as “official power partner” of Formula E, the company revealed today on Twitter.

Enel is the former Italian national power supplier. Now privatised and with global reach but still a quarter owned by the Italian government, the business was said to turn over some €75billion in 2014 with a staff of around 70,000.

Images posted at the company’s Twitter page reveal a swanky launch event to mark the new partnership, which Enel promises will introduce “an innovative microgrid…a collection of advanced technologies and features”.

Quite what this means in reality (and what it means for the Formula E future of Aquafuel, the British provider of the nearly-zero emissions generators currently used to recharge the Formula E racing cars), we don’t yet know. We’ll bring you more when we have it.

Update: The official press release has arrived and it contains a series of bombshell announcements.

Here are the headlines:

The partnership kicks off as of this week’s Berlin race and will last two seasons. There’s an option to extend beyond the 2017-18 season

Enel is designing a “fully digitised mini-grid” for the sport which will monitor energy use at each event

Fans will be able to interact with the system in real-time (exactly what that means is as yet unspecified)

Enel will provide on-site LED lighting and charging points for fans bringing EVs

Formula E plans to use “deploy a combination of solar panels and glycerine-fed generators connected to a highly innovative storage system” by 2017-18 season (which sounds like good news for Aquafuel)

Because of Enel’s power supply mix, Formula E says that its operations at the Berlin race will be completely carbon neutral, as will be all subsequent races

Formula E states that the series generates around 30,000 tonnes of CO2 per season, mostly from logistics, and that working with Enel will help offset this (that’s got to sting slightly at DHL)

Here’s the release in full:

Enel will work with Formula E to optimise its clean energy generation, distribution and management, showcasing its advanced energy solutions. The partnership gets the green light at the upcoming Berlin ePrix, which takes place on May 21st, and will run through the following two seasons, with the possibility to extend the agreement beyond the 2017/18 season.

Enel is designing a fully digitised energy mini-grid for Formula E, using the company’s smart metering technology to monitor power usage and give fans the chance to interact with an advanced energy system in real time. In the current season, Enel will gradually deploy its smart meters and energy management system, harvesting data on energy usage for each team and across the event at every race.

A transportable mini-grid will eventually ensure that the championship’s races continue to place no extra strain on any existing electricity grid. Enel will also provide its LED lighting technology for areas around each circuit, as well as setting up its own charging columns for fans arriving at each ePrix in their own electric vehicles.

By the 2017/18 season, Formula E will be ready to deploy a combination of solar panels and glycerine-fed generators connected to a highly innovative storage system that will distribute energy at the event whenever needed. Enel will also look at installing solar panels in other areas at each venue.

With Enel driving the development of renewable generation technologies, smart grids and e-mobility solutions in the energy sector, Formula E offers the Group a hi-tech testing ground for the ongoing development of its green power technologies.

Furthermore, following the signing of the partnership agreement, the entire Formula E operations will become carbon neutral. Consequently, the Berlin ePrix becomes the first-ever carbon neutral motor race. Currently Formula E generates around 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, which, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency data, is equivalent to the average annual CO2 emissions of over 2,700 American homes.

The majority of CO2 generated by the championship comes from the transportation of equipment over the course of the season. Enel will therefore work with Formula E to progressively offset those emissions through the deployment of Enel’s renewable energy technologies.