Eni met with the President of the Tuscany Region Eugenio Giani and the mayors of Livorno, Luca Salvetti, and of Collesalvetti, Adelio Antolini, to whom he confirmed that the possible construction, within the Eni industrial site in Livorno, of a new biorefinery.
The feasibility study envisages the construction of three new plants for the production of hydrogenated biofuels: a biogenic feedstock pretreatment unit, a 500 tons / year Ecofining ™ plant and a plant for the production of hydrogen from methane gas. The construction of the new biorefinery within the industrial area, which today houses the plants for the production of fuels and lubricants, would allow to maximize synergies with the infrastructures already available and to ensure a productive and employment future for the site.
Joseph Ricci, Eni's General Manager Energy Evolution, commented: "We are working to add an important milestone to Eni's decarbonization strategy and to the path undertaken many years ago, with the transformation, in Venice in 2014, of the first refinery into a biorefinery. The coexistence of organic and traditional plants has been successfully tested with the recent production in Livorno of Eni Biojet, the first SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel), exclusively from waste raw materials, animal fats and exhausted vegetable oils thanks to the synergy with the Eni biorefinery of Gela. Our goal is to increase the availability of decarbonised and sustainable products to our customers and to reach the targets for the reduction of emissions scope 3".
The President of the Tuscany Region Eugenio Giani commented: "I express great appreciation for Eni's decision to study the conversion of the Livorno refinery into a biorefinery geared to a sustainable energy transition both in terms of the environment and the market. Technological innovation and the importance of the investment, as well as the plant synergies between new and previous production activities, open up a real development prospect that is also attentive to maintaining the workforce and the entire production chain. These are far-sighted choices, compatible with the reference territory, which will also benefit from the infrastructural competitiveness deriving from the modernization of the same port of Livorno with the Europa dock.".
Luca Salvetti, Mayor of Livorno, commented: "In these three years of mandate, the definition of clear industrial and employment prospects for the Eni refinery in Stagno has seen our constant commitment alongside institutions, trade unions and the company, with the essential objective of giving the plant a future and certainties to workers. It is great satisfaction to see how the efforts of all parties have led to the identification of a virtuous path that we hope will lead to the creation of a new biorefinery on our site. Project that combines industrial objectives, environmental compatibility and employment stability. The path saw us actively engaged, arriving in March of this year to sit at the discussion table wanted by the Ministry of Economic Development alongside the top management, President Giani and workers' representatives. That commitment is now starting to bear fruit and the road seems to have been drawn. Work is, and will always remain, at the center of the objectives of this administration, ready to provide a stable and collaborative institutional dialogue in the future to all those involved in this front.".
Adelio Antolini, Mayor of Collesalvetti, commented: "The construction of a biorefinery inside the Eni plant in Stagno, which with the mayor Luca Salvetti we proposed in a press conference in January 2021 as an appropriate solution for our territory both for the maintenance of qualified jobs and for the environment, is today becoming a reality. This study is already a result and a commitment to future development with an investment by Eni at a high level of technical innovation. A great teamwork of Eni and the Tuscany Region with the Municipalities of Livorno and Collesalvetti".
Eni is the second largest producer of biofuels in Europe, with 1,1 million tons / year and the objectives of increasing the share to 2 million by 2025 and to 6 in the next decade. The biorefineries of Venice and Gela transform into high quality biofuels - biodiesel, but also bio-LPG and bio-naphtha also for use by the chemical industry - waste raw materials, residues and waste deriving from transformation processes of vegetable products or oils from crops not in competition with the food chain. From 2023 Eni will no longer process palm oil and will make available pure hydrogenated biofuel, containing 100% biogenic component, which can reduce GHG emissions (GreenHouse Gas) Well to Wheel by up to 90%, i.e. along the entire logistics and production chain, up to its final use.
The design of the three new plants in Livorno will be completed by 2023 and the construction could take place by 2025.
The transformation plan of the Livorno refinery will be the subject of a discussion process with local institutions and trade union organizations within the framework of the participatory and inclusive industrial relations model.