Eni, Snam, CDP sign deal to decarbonize Italy's energy system

London — Italian oil and gas company Eni has teamed up with energy infrastructure provider Snam and investment bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti in a bid to decarbonize Italy's energy system, the companies announced Dec. 23.

The three Italian companies have signed a letter of intent to start a strategic collaboration on the energy transition in a move that aims to better integrate their efforts to boost clean energy technologies.

"The agreement ... provides that the three companies can jointly carry out integrated projects along the entire value chain in key sectors for the energy transition, such as hydrogen, circular economy (including the use of biomethane), and sustainable mobility," Snam said in a statement.

In particular, Eni and Snam will contribute their complementary technical and industrial skills in the upstream/downstream and midstream sectors, respectively, and CDP its financial skills and expertise in managing relations with the institutions involved in the initiatives, Snam said.

The latest collaboration is part of a wider commitment by the three companies to support efforts to achieve the EU's proposed 55% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030, from a 1990 baseline, which member states backed Dec. 11.

The companies will promote possible joint initiatives, including partnerships, aimed at developing the production, transportation and marketing of green hydrogen.

The collaboration will also involve the production and use of hydrogen in rail transport, leveraging Eni's expertise in the field of electricity and renewable energy generation and Snam's expertise in infrastructure and electrolysers, as well as in storage and logistics solutions, Snam said.

The companies will also collaborate to create multifunctional refueling stations for compressed natural gas, LNG and hydrogen, including the necessary infrastructure to guarantee the supply of LNG throughout Italy for land and sea transportation.

The three companies are also targeting the hard-to-decarbonize industrial sectors, such as refining, by developing the potential of carbon capture and storage to promote the production of blue hydrogen in the transition phase and progressively through green hydrogen, Snam said.

The collaboration will also involve the development of infrastructure and research and development activities for the storage and transportation of hydrogen and CO2, it said.

The collaboration will allow Italy to be at the forefront of new sustainable technologies globally, Snam CEO Marco Alvera said in the statement.

As well as adhering to the EU's 2030 and 2050 climate targets, the three companies' cooperation is aimed at supporting the United Nations 2030 Agenda by "contributing to the mitigation of climate change and to the creation of a growth model that is increasingly oriented towards sustainability," said CDP chief Fabrizio Palermo.

The joint agreement will be developed through further binding agreements that the parties will establish in line with applicable regulations, including where transactions between related parties and unbundling are concerned.