Eni and Saipem have signed an agreement to support the transformation of traditional refineries and the establishment of new biorefineries by Eni. The agreement was signed on Monday by Giuseppe Ricci, Chief Operating Officer for Energy Evolution at Eni, and Alessandro Puliti, Chief Executive Officer at Saipem.

Aligning with the decarbonization goals of both Eni and Saipem, the agreement focuses on the study and potential construction of plants dedicated to the production of biojet, a sustainable aviation fuel, and HVO biodiesel. HVO biodiesel is produced entirely from renewable raw materials, in accordance with the EU Directive 2018/2001 “REDII”. Enilive service stations already offer this biodiesel under the name HVOlution, which can be utilized in road, naval, and rail transport.

To achieve these objectives, Eni will leverage its proprietary Ecofining™ technology. This technology will be applied not only in the development of new biorefineries but also in the conversion of existing traditional refineries. Eni’s extensive technological and operational expertise will be combined with Saipem’s distinctive capabilities in the design and construction of such plants.

Eni has already made significant strides in the field of biorefining. It was the first company globally to convert two traditional refineries into biorefineries. These conversions took place in Venice Porto Marghera and Gela, Sicily. The biorefineries utilize Ecofining™ technology to process waste feedstocks, including used cooking oil, animal fats, residues from the agri-food industry, and vegetable oils.

Eni has plans to expand its biorefining capacity. The current capacity stands at 1.65 million tons per year(mtpa), and the company aims to increase it to over 5 mtpa by 2030.