Eni Spa has begun producing sustainable aviation gas (SAF) at its Gela biorefinery, which may produce as much as 400,000 metric tons each year (MMtpa).
The Italian state-backed built-in power firm mentioned the capability represents practically a 3rd of Europe’s SAF demand in 2025.
“Since September 2022, Enilive has signed agreements with a number of airways for the availability of SAF, due to the preliminary manufacturing achieved by synergies between the Gela Enilive biorefinery and different Eni services, utilizing waste-based feedstocks”, Eni mentioned in a web based assertion, referring to its biofuels arm.
The transformed Gela refinery in Sicily can course of as much as 736,000 metric tons of biomass a 12 months, primarily utilizing waste and residual feedstocks akin to cooking oil, animal fats and by-products from vegetable oil processing, Eni mentioned.
“The modern SAF manufacturing in Gela has been made potential by plant modifications, particularly to the isomerization unit, which has been geared up with a reactor and a product separation part, in addition to upgrades to the tank farm and logistics infrastructure”, it mentioned.
Work is underway for facility upgrades that might allow the conversion of extra numerous waste and residual feedstocks into hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) biofuels, Eni mentioned.
“The crops and applied sciences that we’re creating place Enilive as a frontrunner within the manufacturing of HVO biofuels and make sure the corporate’s technique, distinguished by a powerful development in providing more and more sustainable merchandise”, mentioned Enilive chief govt Stefano Ballista. “Eni began investing on this discipline over a decade in the past and Enilive shall be among the many first firms on the earth to provide vital portions of SAF”.
Eni goals to develop its biorefining capability to over 5 MMtpa by 2030. It goals to allow one MMtpa of SAF manufacturing by subsequent 12 months and probably double that degree by the top of the last decade.
It expects the SAF plant in Porto Marghera, a part of the Venice biorefinery, to go onstream 2026. Eni can also be creating biorefineries in Malaysia and South Korea.
Final 12 months Eni introduced a brand new funding for Enilive, which produces biomethane, SAF and different biofuels, in addition to affords electrical automobile charging and automotive sharing.
World funding agency KKR & Co. Inc. signed an settlement with Eni to purchase 25 p.c of Enilive’s share capital for EUR 2.438 billion ($$2.56 billion). Eni and KKR had been to inject into Enilive new capital of EUR 500 million ($524.34 million) every underneath the settlement, Eni mentioned in a press launch October 24, 2024.
The European Union requires airports within the area to steadily elevate the share of SAF of their gas combine.
Every airport in member states will need to have no less than two p.c of SAF of their whole consumption beginning this 12 months. That should enhance to 6 p.c from 2030, to twenty p.c from 2035, to 34 p.c from 2040, to 42 p.c from 2045 and to 70 p.c from 2050, in accordance with the ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation adopted October 2024.
Not solely biofuels, additionally thought-about SAF by the regulation are recycled carbon fuels and artificial fuels.
To contact the creator, electronic mail jov.onsat@rigzone.com
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