Eni to promote advanced biomethane from waste

Eni has signed an agreement with the Italian Biogas Consortium (CIB) to promote the production of advanced biomethane from animal waste, agro-industrial byproducts and dedicated winter crops for use in the transport sector in the form of compressed gas or LNG. The agreement supports Eni’s efforts to develop a circular economy in energy production.

‘The biogas and biomethane sector is a fundamental reality in Italian agriculture, which requires investment focusing on technology and research. The agreement between the Italian Biogas Consortium and Eni can be seen as a tangible effort towards innovation and to protect the environment. A major challenge heading towards the future and cleaner, greener energy can start from agriculture, a primary sector of our economy,’ comments senator Gian Marco Centinaio, Italian Minister of Agricultural, Food, Forestry and Tourism Policies.

Giuseppe Ricci, Chief Refining & Marketing Officer for Eni, says: ‘Through this agreement, Eni is taking another important step in applying the principles of the circular economy to energy production, a strategic element in the transition towards decarbonised and increasingly sustainable energy. This path has seen the company implement major projects like the world’s first conversion of a traditional refinery into a bio-refinery and the implementation of waste-to-fuel technology, using organic municipal waste to create an oil to be used in the production of biofuel for maritime transport.’

‘The joint agreement with Eni demonstrates how biomethane, a particularly flexible molecule, is destined for an important role in the current energy transition,’ continues Piero Gattoni, President of the CIB, noting that the aim is to produce ‘200mn cm of advanced biomethane, sustainably produced by Italian agricultural companies, by 2022’.