The first carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Italy is known as the Ravenna CCS project, and it was launched solely for environmental purposes. The goal is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which contributes to the fight against climate change, especially in industries that are difficult to decarbonize.
The project is named after the region in which it is located, and will use depleted natural gas fields in the Adriatic Sea. It involves permanent geological storage of carbon dioxide captured from the stacks of third-party industrial plants and transport via underground pipelines or by ship to a pump in Kazalborzeti.
In this project, the oil and gas company Eni and the energy structure company Snam joined forces.
The first phase aims to capture, transport and store 25 thousand tons of CO2 per year from Eni’s natural gas processing plant. After capture, the carbon dioxide is transported and stored at a depth of 3,000 meters in the depleted gas field. The plant already reduces CO2 emissions from the chimney of the plant in Kazalborzeti by over 90 percent, and in some cases even up to 96 percent. This is particularly important because the conditions for capturing carbon dioxide are difficult due to the low concentration of CO2 and atmospheric pressure.
After the end of this phase, a second one is planned, starting in 2027, for which it is planned to store up to four million tons of CO2 per year. From 2030, the significant capacity of these reservoirs, estimated at over 500 million tons, could allow for an increase in volume, potentially reaching more than 16 million tons per year, depending on market demand.
According to a report by the Polytechnic University of Milan, a CCS plant with the potential to capture and store 16 million tons of CO2 per year, with total lifetime costs of €38.4 billion (including investment and operating costs), could generate direct and indirect economic benefits from 79 billion euros.
In the second phase, it was envisaged that Ravenna would become the reference CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage – CCS) center for Southern Europe and the Mediterranean.
The Ravenna project will achieve the creation of new jobs in an advanced sector oriented towards sustainability, attract investments and new sustainable industrial initiatives from global investors.
This project is a key part of Italy’s strategy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and maintain the competitiveness of its industries while reducing environmental impact.
Jasna Dragojević
Source: energetskiportal.rs
