Energy company Eni and Italian energy infrastructure company Snam announced that their Joint Venture project Ravenna CCS, Italy’s first carbon capture and storage hub, is now operational.
The collaborative project is currently in Phase 1 of its development.
During this stage, the carbon captured from Eni’s natural gas treatment plant located in Casalborsetti, Ravenna, will be transported to the offshore processing platform Porto Corsini Mare Ovest to be handled and injected in the depleted Porto Corsini Mare Ovest gas field in the Adriatic Sea.
Emissions from this location have been estimated to amount to about 25,000 tonnes of carbon per year. By capturing and permanently storing these emissions at a depth of 3000 meters, the partnering companies shared that this project is already helping reduce over 90% of CO2 emissions from the Casalborsetti plant’s chimney, peaking at times to 96%.
Ravenna CCS is powered by renewable energy, eliminating further harmful emissions from its activities. This project has the potential to become Italy’s carbon capture and storage center, offering hard-to-abate industries in the region a durable solution for managing their carbon footprint.
In the following years, once the project development enters Phase 2, Eni and Snam are projecting that its industrial-scale capacity will be able to store up to 4 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030. This plan aligns with the targets outlined in Italy’s Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC).
Given there is enough market demand, the project could expand its reach in the depleted gas fields of the Adriatic Sea to reach a volume of captured and stored carbon of 16 million metric tons per year.
Eni and Snam are also researching the possibility of reusing the captured carbon in the future. To this end, the companies plan to employ the expert knowledge from professionals, research centers, and universities located in the Emilia Romagna area of Italy.
source: carbon herald
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