The first carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Italy is known as the Ravenna CCS Project, launched exclusively for environmental purposes. Its goal is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, contributing to the fight against climate change, particularly in industries that are difficult to decarbonize.
The project is named after the region where it is located and will use depleted natural gas fields in the Adriatic Sea. It involves the permanent geological storage of carbon dioxide captured from the smokestacks of third-party industrial plants, transported via underground pipelines or by ship to the pumping station in Casalborsetti.
In this project, oil and gas company Eni and energy infrastructure company Snam have joined forces.
The first phase aims to capture, transport, and store 25,000 tons of CO2 per year from Eni’s natural gas processing plant. After capture, the carbon dioxide is transported and stored at a depth of 3,000 meters in the depleted gas field. The facility already reduces CO2 emissions from the smokestacks of the Casalborsetti plant by over 90 percent, and in some cases, up to 96 percent. This is especially important given the challenging conditions for carbon capture due to the low concentration of CO2 and atmospheric pressure.
After completing this phase, a second phase is planned to begin in 2027, which aims to store up to four million tons of CO2 annually. From 2030, the significant capacity of these reservoirs, estimated at over 500 million tons, could allow for an increase in volume, potentially reaching more than 16 million tons per year, depending on market demand.
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According to a report by the Polytechnic University of Milan, a CCS facility with the potential to capture and store 16 million tons of CO2 annually, with total costs over its lifetime of 38.4 billion euros (including investments and operating costs), could generate direct and indirect economic benefits of 79 billion euros.
In the second phase, Ravenna is envisioned to become a reference CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) center for Southern Europe and the Mediterranean.
The Ravenna project will create new jobs in an advanced sustainability-oriented sector, attract investments, and bring in new sustainable industrial initiatives from global investors.
This project is a key part of Italy’s strategy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and maintain the competitiveness of its industries while reducing environmental impact.
