Eni S.p.A. (Rome, Italy) and Saipem S.p.A. (San Donato Milanese, Italy) have signed an agreement for the development of biorefining projects. It was signed by Giuseppe Ricci, Chief Operating Officer for Energy Evolution at Eni, and Alessandro Puliti, Chief Executive Officer at Saipem, to support the transformation path of traditional refineries and the development of new Eni biorefineries.
The agreement is in line with the decarbonization goals of Eni and Saipem, and it focuses on the study for and subsequent potential construction of plants for the production of biojet, a sustainable aviation fuel, and of the biofuel HVO diesel, produced from 100% renewable raw materials (pursuant to EU Directive 2018/2001 “REDII”). HVO diesel is on sale at Enilive service stations under the name HVOlution and can be used across road, naval and rail transport.
The agreement involves the application of Eni’s proprietary Ecofining technology for both the development of new biorefineries and the conversion of traditional refineries, combining Eni’s extensive technological and operational experience with Saipem’s distinctive expertise in the design and construction of this type of plants.
Eni was the first company in the world to convert two traditional refineries into biorefineries, in Venice Porto Marghera and Gela, Sicily, for the processing of waste feedstocks, such as used cooking oil, animal fats, agro-food industry residues and vegetable oils, using Ecofining technology. Saipem provided support on both projects.
Eni plans to expand its biorefining capacity from the current 1.65 million tons/year to over 5 million tons/year by 2030. Recently, the company announced a collaboration with LG Chem to potentially construct a biorefinery in South Korea.