Eni announced a new collaboration agreement with Air Liquide aimed at evaluating decarbonization solutions for hard-to-abate industrial sectors in the Mediterranean region of Europe.

Through the collaboration, the two companies will combine their expertise and know-how to enable CO2 capture, aggregation, transport, and permanent storage.

Under the agreement, Eni and Air Liquide will cooperate to determine hard-to-abate industries in this geographic area and find the best possible ways to develop a large-scale Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) program.

Air Liquide will play an active role in developing competitive solutions for CO2 abatement, while Eni will identify the most suitable permanent CO2 storage locations in the Mediterranean Sea.

Luigi Ciarrocchi, Eni’s Director, CCUS, Forestry and Agro-Feedstock, said that “The goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 is a pillar of Eni’s strategy. CCS is pivotal in the decarbonisation process, in particular for the most energy and carbon-intensive industrial sectors. By contributing to reduce emissions from hard to abate sectors, we aim to promote a process of environmental and at the same time economic and social sustainability, supporting the continuity of industrial activities, such as, but not limited to, cement and steel, that are central to Italy’s economy.”

Pascal Vinet, Senior Vice President, a member of Air Liquide Executive Committee, supervising Europe Industries, said: “We are pleased to cooperate with Eni in this important decarbonization initiative and leverage our expertise in CO2 management to concretely contribute to the reduction of industrial carbon emissions in Europe. Supporting the decarbonization of the Industry is one of the strategic pillars of Air Liquide, which is committed to addressing the urgency of climate change and reach carbon neutrality by 2050.”