Eni Secures Funding for Italy Biofuels Plant

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

Summary

Italy's Eni has secured 500 million euro (US$577 million) in financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for a key biofuels project at its Sannazzaro de' Burgondi refinery.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to fund the partial conversion of Eni's Sannazzaro de' Burgondi (Pavia) refinery in northern Italy to biofuels.

According to Industrial Info Resources data, the 15-year loan of 500 million euro (US$577 million) will go towards converting the refinery's Hydrocracker (HDC2) unit using Ecofining technology which, from 2028, will start producing hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) diesel biofuels and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with a production capacity of around 550,000 tonnes per year. It will also go towards building a pre-treatment plant for waste materials such as used cooking oils and animal fats, as well as waste from the agri-food industry, which comprises the main feedstock used by Enilive to produce HVO biofuels. 

Who is Enilive?

Enilive is an Eni company dedicated to mobility transformation, including biorefining and biomethane assets. Pure HVO can be used in approved engines and the company sells it through a network of 1,600 Enilive service stations across Europe. Its goal is to boost biofuel production capacity to 5 million tonnes by 2030, including over 2 million tonnes of SAF production capacity. Today, it produces biofuels at its biorefineries in Venice and Gela, and at the St. Bernard Renewables LLC biorefinery in Louisiana in the U.S - a joint venture in which Enilive holds a 50% stake. Two other biorefineries are currently under construction in Malaysia and South Korea. 

A Second Win for Eni

This is the second such deal between Eni and the EIB. Last July, a similar loan of 500 million euro (US$577 million) was granted to convert Eni's Livorno refinery in Tuscany into a biorefinery. It covers the construction of new plants to produce hydrogenated biofuels at the site, including a biogenic pre-treatment unit and a 500 000-tonne/year Ecofining plant. The Livorno biorefinery will be able to treat different types of biogenic charges, mainly waste and residues of plant origin, to produce HVO diesel, HVO naphtha and bio-LPG. There is also scope to modify the layout of the plant to let it produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the future. Industrial Info Resources is tracking 11 related projects worth more than US$660 million. Subscribers to Industrial Info Resources' Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports. 

Industrial Info Resources also is tracking a fourth Eni project to construct a new biorefinery in Priolo, Sicily on the site of a former petrochemical plant. It is developing the project with Q8, the international arm of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPI) and the biorefinery will have a capacity of 500,000 tonnes per year of HVO and Sustainable SAF. The engineering stage is complete. Commissioning of the plant is expected in 2028. 

Europe and Biofuels

"This financing represents strategic support for a project with high environmental and industrial value, contributing to the decarbonisation of the transport sector, particularly aviation," explained EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti. "Through this initiative, the EIB aims to strengthen Europe's capacity to produce advanced fuels and to promote the circular and sustainable use of resources." The revised Renewable Energy Directive establishes binding targets for the share of renewable energy in the transport sector, including maritime and aviation. By 2030, EU countries are required to either achieve a share of 29% of renewable energy in transport, or to reduce the emissions intensity of transport fuels by 14.5%. There is also a combined sub-target for renewable hydrogen and advanced biofuels of 5.5%.

Key Takeaways

• Eni secures 500 million euro (US$577 million) in financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for a new Italian biofuels plant. 
• From 2028 it will produce roughly 550,000 tonnes per year of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) diesel biofuels and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
• A similar Eni biofuels project at Livorno in Tuscany received similar EIB funding last summer. Industrial Info Resources is tracking 11 projects at Livorno worth more than US$660 million. 

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 Trillion (USD).