The project for the production of biomethane for haulage from agro-food waste is underway
Eni, Inalca and Havi Logistics have signed the first national agreement for the production and use of biomethane for automotive produced from agro-food waste in the meat sector. The initiative concretizes an innovative energy supply chain for the transition towards a low impact transport system based entirely on renewable sources.
The project integrates the skills of three large industrial operators and is based on the energy conversion of the biogas production plants of Inalca (Cremonini Group), the main national operator in the beef sector, from electricity to biomethane. Inalca currently self-produces 100% of the energy needed for its needs, of which 50% from renewable sources. Thanks to Eni's technological support for the management of the complex energy conversion process of the plants and the commitment of Havi Logistics for the use of bio-methane in the new fleets of vehicles used in the transport of meat, an integrated energy chain will be created, in able to enhance waste and processing waste for their reuse in the context of the same system that generated them, creating a concrete example of circular economy.
"Eni has undertaken an integrated strategy on sustainable mobility that aims at the development of all the levers of decarbonisation of transport - says Eni's Bio Development, Sustainable Mobility and Circular Economy Manager - from the production of fuels also using waste and waste food oils of plant raw materials with patents that transform wet waste into water and bio oil, from car sharing to new fuels such as hydrogen. This agreement adds another step to our strategy for the development of circular economy initiatives, seeing in biomethane a lever of extraordinary potential to decarbonise waste and transport ".
«Too often - says Luigi Scordamaglia, CEO of Inalca - we talk about electric mobility as the only possible future for sustainable transport, forgetting that this option is currently only applicable in the automotive sector. In the field of civil transport and agricultural traction, biomethane, especially in the liquefied form (LNG), is currently the most concrete option for improving environmental sustainability in medium and long-range transport routes. A perfect example of a sustainable circular economy in which our country can really be a global leader: biomass from an agri-food production with zero waste, transformation into biomethane with the best existing technology and its use in the same truck fleets used in distribution of food ".
"Since the 80s - explains Nerio Zurli, Managing Director Havi Logistics - HAVI has adopted courageous environmental policies aimed at reducing CO₂ emissions, also thanks to the strategic collaboration with Scania, which in 2014 allowed us to put the first Euro 6 heavy vehicle powered by compressed gas (CNG) in Europe. Today, compressed or liquid gas powered vehicles represent over 50% of our fleet and the development of biomethane represents a concrete opportunity to accelerate the conversion program for vehicles powered by traditional fuels, with the aim of reducing emissions by 40%. of CO2 in road transport by 2030. In addition to this, we have continued to tackle climate change through a growing list of initiatives also in other areas such as waste management and recycling, the development of renewable energy and the responsible sourcing of materials ".
The agreement establishes the principle that in the mobility sector the change in industrial policy must go through a new responsible dialogue between a large industry in the area, which must combine industrial production with the pre-eminent protection of the environment and health, a major transformation industry that needs to manage its own processes by transforming the waste produced in raw materials to be included in new industrial chains for the valorization of waste and waste, and a great user in the transport logistics sector who needs to ensure sustainability and traceability by limiting emissions footprint as much as possible.
This synergy can make a decisive contribution to achieving the emission targets set by the European directive 2018/2001 / EC, including that of reaching at least 14% of transport fuels from renewable sources.