Italy: First CO₂ Capture and Storage Project Launches

Italian companies ENI (petrochemicals) and SNAM (energy infrastructure) announce the start of the first CO₂ capture and storage project in Italy.

The objective of the Ravenna CCS project in the first phase is to capture, transport, and store CO₂ emitted by the ENI natural gas processing plant in Casalborsetti (Ravenna), whose emissions are estimated at about 25 thousand tons per year. It will be captured by renewable energy systems and then transported through pipelines previously used to transport natural gas to the Porto Corsini Mare Ovest offshore platform, where it will be injected into the same field (now depleted) at a depth of 3000 meters.

According to the ENI report, the plant guarantees a CO₂ reduction level of more than 90%, with peak values reaching 96%, making the CCS project in Ravenna the first in the world on an industrial scale with such capture efficiency.

Phase 2 of the project, which will be activated in the next few years, involves the industrial development of the Ravenna CCS to store up to 4 million tons of carbon dioxide per year by 2030. By exploiting the depleted gas fields in the Adriatic, it will be possible to reach a storage level of 16 million tons per year.

“A project of great importance for decarbonization has become an industrial reality. CO₂ capture and storage is now an efficient, safe, and affordable practice to reduce emissions from energy-intensive industries whose operations cannot be electrified,” commented ENI CEO Claudio Descalzi. “We are utilizing our depleted fields, existing infrastructure, and our knowledge of how to use re-injection techniques to offer a very competitive service that generates a lot of interest.”