What happens between Eni and the government
Blue hydrogen, CO2 capture and moderation: Eni's line on the ecological transition does not displease Minister Cingolani and the Draghi government. But about Ravenna …
The Minister of Ecological Transition Roberto Cingolani really liked the Confindustria Energia manifesto on the "sustainable transition". This is a document, presented yesterday to the government, containing the guidelines of the association – and supported by various trade unions, which contributed to the drafting – to prevent the energy transition from accelerating too abruptly and endangering Italian industrial chains.
WHAT CINGOLANI SAID
At the end of the presentation of the manifesto, Cingolani said he would take the text to Brussels to disseminate it among the European institutions and discuss it with the equivalent ministers of the other member states. And he added that the generally moderate proposals of Confindustria Energia "comforted" him and made him feel "a little less alone": "if we continue to do ideology, we waste time", he declared; "If we go too fast it is social catastrophe, if we go too slowly it is ecological catastrophe".
He was referring to the fact that the energy transition is necessary to cut greenhouse gas emission levels, and must therefore proceed quickly to mitigate global warming and the resulting climate change. On the other hand, proceeding at excessive speed, without taking into account the times of adaptation and conversion of companies and workers, risks creating an industrial and employment crisis.
The question of the economic and social repercussions of the transition seems to be particularly close to Cingolani's heart. For example, he has repeatedly raised the issue of the negative consequences for the so-called "Motor Valley" (ie the production district in Emilia-Romagna where supercar brands such as Ferrari, Maserati or Lamborghini are based) in the event of a too clear transition to the sole electric mobility.
THE INVITATION TO INDUSTRIALS
Cingolani then invited Confindustria Energia to define and present "two or three pilot projects" by the end of December for each of the ten points that make up the manifesto.
THE PROPOSALS OF RICCI (ENI) ON GAS
The president of Confindustria Energia is Giuseppe Ricci, manager (he is general manager of Energy Evolution) of Eni.
At the presentation event of the manifesto he declared that renewable sources must have a "maximum thrust", which must however "be accompanied by the exploitation of gas". Natural gas, despite being a fossil fuel such as coal or oil, releases lower volumes of carbon dioxide emissions and can therefore compensate for renewable plants, which do not produce energy constantly but depending on the presence of wind and sun.
Confindustria Energia would like the Italian government to obtain from the European Commission the inclusion of natural gas among the energy sources considered "sustainable". And therefore, as such, you are entitled to receive investments: the association aims to defend the interests of Italian operators in the gaseous fuel chain such as LPG and LNG.
In Europe, it is above all Germany that is pushing for the recognition of gas as a source of transition towards a zero-emission future: Berlin needs it, in the medium term, to replace coal-fired capacity.
THE HYDROGEN
Speaking of hydrogen, a clean fuel useful for the decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries, Ricci said that it must be produced, “the color doesn't matter”. The color is what determines the raw material and the process that led to obtaining hydrogen: the "green" one is the hydrogen obtained through electricity generated by renewable plants, and therefore entirely "clean"; the "blue" one, on the other hand, is the hydrogen obtained from the gas but capturing and storing CO2 emissions, avoiding their release into the atmosphere.
In short, Eni, whose business has historically focused on fossil fuels, is pushing to extend the concept of sustainability to blue hydrogen as well.
THE CAPTURE OF CO2
Closely related to blue hydrogen, therefore, are CO2 capture and storage technologies, which Ricci mentioned in his speech yesterday.
In addition to allowing the production of hydrogen from gas, these technologies can be used in hard-to-abate industrial plants (whose production processes, that is, cannot be electrified: concrete, chemical steel) to avoid the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere. . The carbon dioxide captured is in fact stored underground, usually in exhausted hydrocarbon deposits.
Eni has several carbon capture, storage and reuse projects around the world. A few months ago it reached an agreement with the British company Progressive Energy on the HyNet North West project: it will create a low-emission industrial pole in the United Kingdom; Eni will take care of the transport and storage of CO2 in depleted hydrocarbon fields in Liverpool Bay.
In addition to HyNet North West, the company is working on another carbon capture project in the UK called Net Zero Teesside on the country's north east coast. It is also evaluating the possibility of a similar project in the United Arab Emirates, Libya (Bahr Essalam), Australia and East Timor (in South East Asia).
THE PROJECT IN RAVENNA
Eni has a carbon capture project also in Italy, in Ravenna, which however has not received funds from the PNRR: it provides for the conversion of depleted natural gas fields in the Adriatic Sea and the reuse of part of the infrastructures already present in the area (the city is an important industrial and petrochemical center).
In the words of the company, the Ravenna project would represent “one of the major hubs in the world” for the storage of CO2; the ambition is to make it the "reference" for Italy and for the entire Mediterranean region.
THE DRAGONS ASSIST?
During the COP26 in Glasgow, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said that "in the long term renewable energies may have limits", and therefore "we need to invest in innovative technologies capable of capturing carbon".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/governo-draghi-eni-sintonie/ on Wed, 01 Dec 2021 14:47:47 +0000.