Eni S.p.A. (Rome, Italy) has been granted authorization by the Italian Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, following the opinions of the National Institute of Health and the regional government of Tuscany, to proceed with previously announced plans to construct a biorefinery in Livorno. The request for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was submitted in November 2022. Construction of Italy’s third biorefinery, confirmed by Eni last January, will begin as soon as the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, in consultation with local authorities, issues the Single Authorization and the related building permit. The refinery, which will use the Ecofining technology, will have a production capacity of 500,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr). Completion is expected by 2026.
The conversion of the Livorno industrial site, following other successful conversions in Porto Marghera in 2014 and Gela in 2019, confirms Eni’s decarbonization strategy, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and to increase Enilive’s bio-refining capacity from the current 1.65 million tonnes/year to over 5 million m.t./yr by 2030.
The areas designated for the three new bio-refining plants, which have been under preparation since January, are now ready for the next phase of construction. These plants will produce HVO diesel, HVO naphtha, and bio-LPG from renewable raw materials (in accordance with the European Renewable Energy Directive).