Carbon capture and storage in Italy is a key to ensuring the survival and competitiveness of the steel, cement, and chemicals industries, according to energy group Eni (ENI.MI) and gas grid operator Snam (SRG.MI) who spoke on Friday, as reported by Reuters.
The companies have joined forces in 2022 to deliver Italy’s first carbon capture and storage hub known as the Ravenna CCS Project. The group said last week that the first CCS hub presents an opportunity to position Italy as a pivotal country for carbon storage in southern Europe. They called on the government to define a competitive framework capable of attracting investments.
Relevant: Eni And Snam To Jointly Develop First Carbon Capture Project In Italy
“Several high-emission companies located around the French city of Marseille have expressed interest in our project,” said Snam Chief Executive Stefano Venier while presenting a study on the Eni-Snam CCS hub at the Cernobbio 2023 business conference.
The study, compiled by think-tank The European House – Ambrosetti, estimates that the carbon capture hub will be able to store around 300 million tons of CO2 by 2050 to industrial sectors generating 62.5 billion euros ($67.8 billion) of value added and providing around 1.27 million jobs in Italy.
“Eni intends to leverage its experience and skills to reconvert… part of the existing infrastructures and production districts into carbon dioxide storage hubs,” said Eni Chief Operating Officer for Natural Resources Guido Brusco.
The Ravenna project, about to be developed by the two oil and gas majors in the country, will be located in northeast Italy and will aim to store 4 million tons of carbon dioxide per year upon completion of Phase 2.
The two companies launched Phase 1 in Q4 2022 which will capture 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year emitted from Eni’s natural gas treatment plant near Ravenna that will be injected into a depleted offshore gas field. Phase 1 has currently obtained a CO2 storage license from the Italian authorities. It is scheduled to be completed in Q1 2024.
Phase 2, scheduled to start in 2027, aims to allow storage of 4 million metric tons of CO2 per year – one million tons will come from plants owned by Eni and the remaining 3 million tons will be reserved for third-party industrial emitters.
The project wants to help decarbonize the hard-to-abate industries in the region like cement, steel, fertilizer, and chemicals among others and has already signed a letter of intent with four emitters located in the Ravenna industrial area. The potential impact from the hub is estimated to eliminate around 10 million tons of CO2 per year by 2030.