Energy firm Eni and infrastructure company Snam have begun injecting carbon dioxide (CO2) into a former natural gas reservoir as part of Phase 1 of the Ravenna carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Italy.
It is the country’s first CO2 capture, transport, and storage project created specifically for environmental purposes.
In Phase 1, around 25,000 tons of CO2 per year will be captured from Eni’s natural gas treatment plant in Casalborsetti, Ravenna, and transported via repurposed pipelines to the depleted Porto Corsini Mare Ovest gas field, where it will be stored at a depth of 3,000 meters.
The joint-venture project has already achieved a reduction of more than 90 percent in CO2 emissions from the Casalborsetti plant, with capture efficiency reaching up to 96 percent. Additionally, the facility is powered entirely by renewable energy, avoiding further emissions.
Phase 2 of the Ravenna CCS project aims to store up to 4 million tons of CO2 per year by 2030, in line with the goals defined by Italy’s Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC). With the total storage capacity of the depleted gas fields of the Adriatic Sea, and based on market demand, the volumes of CO2 captured and stored underground could reach 16 million tons per year.
“We are using our depleted fields, existing infrastructure, and technical expertise in reinjection techniques to offer a very competitive service, which is receiving tremendous interest,” Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said. “We are tackling the complexity of the energy transition with real substance and determination, increasing and enhancing the solutions available to us to decarbonize our activities as well as various areas of economic and industrial systems.”
With its features and storage capacity, Ravenna project developers it could become Italy's main hub for reducing carbon emissions from energy-intensive and hard-to-decarbonize industries, playing a key role in meeting climate goals and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. The project also aims to preserve jobs and create new specialized roles in the Emilia-Romagna region.
Eni and Snam are also conducting research and development studies for a possible future reuse of the captured CO2. These efforts will likely involve top experts from the Emilia-Romagna area, including research centers and universities.
Repurposed CO2 is being utilized in global projects around cement, plastics and steel production.
