Rome, 17 Jan. (Adnkronos) – In Ravenna the first CCS-Carbon Capture and Storage project in Italy. That is, the process that through the capture, transport and storage of CO2 has the objective of decarbonizing industries, in particular the so-called 'hard to abate' sectors, avoiding the emission of significant quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
In the IEA scenarios, CCS and CDR-Carbon Dioxide Removal (a process of active removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere that includes technological and nature-based solutions) will contribute to an 8% reduction in global CO2 emissions between 2020 and 2050. In turn, The European House-Ambrosetti estimates that electrification, energy efficiency, bioenergy, hydrogen and variation of raw materials, used together, can contribute to a reduction of no more than 52% of these emissions. In order to decarbonize the remaining 48%, equal to 30,8 million tons of CO2 per year, it will therefore be necessary to resort to CCS solutions. ()
But what do these solutions consist of? The first phase is that of capture, during which the carbon dioxide is separated from the other gases with which it is mixed, for example following a combustion process. Once separated from the other gases, the CO2 is compressed to allow its transport, usually via pipelines but also by sea (ship) or by land (road or rail transport). At this point it can be used for industrial purposes, such as in the production of cementitious material or biomass for the food industry, and then we speak of CCU (Carbon Capture and Utilization), or stored within underground geological formations, such as depleted hydrocarbon deposits or saline aquifers: in this case we speak of CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage).
“Phase 1 of the Ravenna CCS project was launched in August 2024; it is the first project of its kind to be operational in Italy and one of the first of the new generation in Europe. It is a project divided into several phases and by 2030 we will reach an injection capacity of 4 million tonnes per year. Ravenna CCS will make a decisive contribution to the decarbonisation of both Italian and European industry, becoming a candidate to become the reference hub for southern Europe and the Mediterranean”, explains Roberto Ferrario, Head of Innovative Solutions for CCUS at Eni.
The project, born from a joint venture between Eni and Snam and operated by Eni, is implemented through the conversion of exhausted gas fields, operated by Eni, located in the upper Adriatic Sea. The Ravenna hub will become the Mediterranean reference site for the permanent storage of CO2 with a total capacity currently estimated at over 500 million tons.
Phase 1 began in August 2024 with the injection of approximately 25 tonnes per year of CO2 captured by Eni's Casal Borsetti gas plant for permanent storage in the Porto Corsini Mare Ovest exhausted gas field, off the coast of Ravenna. The subsequent industrial phase will allow interested energy-intensive industries to capture and store their CO2: by 2030, it will be possible to reach a storage capacity of 4 million tonnes per year; subsequently, further expansions could bring the volumes to more than 16 million tonnes of CO2, based on market demand.
Snam has promoted, in collaboration with Eni and Confindustria, a survey on the potential CCS market, to identify the emitters potentially interested in the project and to understand its needs: non-binding expressions of interest have been collected from 61 companies, for a total of 172 industrial sites in Italy. The volumes of CO2 for which interest has been expressed in transport and storage at the site are equal to 27 Mton/year in 2030 and 34 Mton/year in 2040.
An interest that also goes beyond borders. 'Ravenna CCS' is part of the Callisto (Carbon LIquefaction transportation and STOrage) Mediterranean CO2 project that aims to create the largest network in the Mediterranean for the capture, transport and storage of CO2, offering a decarbonization solution for the industrial districts of Ravenna, Ferrara, Porto Marghera, as well as Fos sur Mer (Marseille) and the Rhone Valley in France.
According to the Strategic Study 'Carbon Capture and Storage: a strategic lever for decarbonisation and industrial competitiveness' carried out in 2023 by The European House – Ambrosetti, the use of CCS will help preserve the competitiveness of the hard to abate sectors in Italy (steelworks, cement factories, chemicals, paper, glass, etc.), which represent 94 billion euros of Added Value (5% of the Italian GDP, 2021 data) and 1,25 million employees (4,5% of the national workforce, 2021 data) and which, at the same time, emit 63,7 million tonnes of CO2, of which 22% are intrinsically connected to the production process and which are therefore not avoidable through electrification. Sectors that are fundamental for our economies and for society in general and which in Italy are responsible for over 60% of greenhouse gas emissions from industry and approximately 13% of the national total.
CCUS in the world. The two CCS projects that have been operational for many years in Norway (Sleipner since 1996 and Snohvit since 2008) are now joined by many others under development. Among these, the Northern Lights project, also in Norway, which starting from 2025 will progressively store up to about 5 million tons of emissions per year under the North Sea, coming from numerous emitters in Northern Europe. In Denmark, the Greensand project is at an advanced stage, with launch planned for the same year, while in Holland the Porthos Project in the Rotterdam port area and the Aramis project are under development. The United Kingdom aims to develop 4 capture hubs by 2030 while numerous other projects are being born in Europe also thanks to the support of community funds.
Eni's strategy towards carbon neutrality is articulated in an industrial transformation plan based on multiple solutions. CCUS is one of these, together with renewables, biofuels, energy efficiency, an energy mix that favors less emitting sources such as gas to replace coal and oil, 'low-zero carbon' vectors and carbon offsets for those residual emissions that cannot be avoided. Eni is already a partner in the Sleipner project in Norway. In the UK, Eni is a partner in the HyNet North West project which involves the transformation of the industrial district in the Liverpool Bay area on the north-west coast into the first low-carbon dioxide emission cluster in the world.