Eni and Air Liquide have entered into a collaboration agreement aimed at assessing decarbonization solutions in the Mediterranean region of Europe, focused on hard-to-abate industrial sectors. The two companies join forces combining their well-established expertise and know-how to enable CO2 capture, aggregation, transport and permanent storage.

Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) represents one of the fundamental tools in the decarbonization process, especially for the most carbon-intensive industrial sectors, and will play a key role in achieving the important emission reduction targets set at European level as part of the Green Deal.

Within the framework of the agreement, Eni and Air Liquide will collaborate to identify clusters of hard-to-abate industries in this geographic area and will define the best possible configuration to develop a large-scale CCS program.

In particular, Air Liquide will develop competitive CO2 abatement solutions, leveraging on its ongoing CCS initiatives in Northern Europe and on its innovative proprietary technology CryocapTM able to capture up to 95% of CO2 emissions from industrial facilities.

Eni, leveraging on its experience in gas fields exploitation and management, will identify the most suitable permanent CO2 storage locations in the Mediterranean sea.

Luigi Ciarrocchi, Eni’s Director, CCUS, Forestry and Agro-Feedstock, said that “The goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 is a pillar of Eni’s strategy. CCS is pivotal in the decarbonisation process, in particular for the most energy and carbon-intensive industrial sectors. By contributing to reduce emissions from hard to abate sectors, we aim to promote a process of environmental and at the same time economic and social sustainability, supporting the continuity of industrial activities, such as, but not limited to, cement and steel, that are central to Italy’s economy.”

Pascal Vinet, Senior Vice President, a member of Air Liquide Executive Committee, supervising Europe Industries, said: “We are pleased to cooperate with Eni in this important decarbonization initiative and leverage our expertise in CO2 management to concretely contribute to the reduction of industrial carbon emissions in Europe. Supporting the decarbonization of the Industry is one of the strategic pillars of Air Liquide, which is committed to addressing the urgency of climate change and reach carbon neutrality by 2050.”

About Eni

Eni is an integrated energy company employing more than 34.000 people in 69 countries in the world. Eni engages in oil and natural gas exploration, field development and production, as well as in the supply, trading and shipping of natural gas, LNG, electricity and fuels. Through refineries and chemical plants, Eni processes crude oil and other oil-based feedstock to produce fuels, lubricants and chemical products that are supplied to wholesalers or through retail networks or distributors.

About Air Liquide

A world leader in gases, technologies and services for Industry and Health, Air Liquide is present in 75 countries with approximately 66,400 employees and serves more than 3.8 million customers and patients. Oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen are essential small molecules for life, matter and energy. They embody Air Liquide’s scientific territory and have been at the core of the company’s activities since its creation in 1902.
Air Liquide’s ambition is to be a leader in its industry, deliver long term performance and contribute to sustainability - with a strong commitment to climate change and energy transition at the heart of its strategy. The company’s customer-centric transformation strategy aims at profitable, regular and responsible growth over the long term. It relies on operational excellence, selective investments, open innovation and a network organisation implemented by the Group worldwide. Through the commitment and inventiveness of its people, Air Liquide leverages energy and environment transition, changes in healthcare and digitization, and delivers greater value to all its stakeholders.