Enilive begins sustainable aviation fuel production in Gela

Enilive has commenced the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its Gela biorefinery in Sicily, Italy, a move set to play a crucial role in meeting Europe’s increasing SAF demand. With a production capacity of 400,000 tonnes per year, the facility is expected to supply nearly one-third of the projected European SAF requirement in 2025.

This milestone aligns with the European Union’s ReFuelEU Aviation regulation (EU) 2023/2405, which mandates aviation fuel providers to incorporate SAF into jet fuel. The regulation stipulates an initial minimum of 2% SAF from January 2025, with progressive increments reaching 70% by 2050.

Since September 2022, Enilive has been securing agreements with multiple airlines for SAF supply, leveraging synergies between the Gela facility and other Eni operations. The company aims to enhance its biorefining capabilities to exceed 5 million tonnes annually by 2030, with a SAF production target of 1 million tonnes per year by 2026, potentially doubling by 2030. These ambitious goals are supported by ongoing projects at Enilive’s Venice biorefinery and new facilities in Malaysia and South Korea.

The Gela biorefinery processes 736,000 tonnes of biomass per year, primarily from waste-based feedstocks, including used cooking oils, animal fats, and by-products of vegetable oil processing. SAF production at the site has been made possible by extensive modifications, such as upgrades to the isomerisation unit, additional reactor installations, and improvements to logistics infrastructure. Investments in feedstock pre-treatment, including a third degumming line, are nearing completion, facilitating the conversion of a wider variety of waste-based materials into hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) biofuels.

Stefano Ballista, chief executive officer of Enilive, highlighted the significance of this development: “The plants and technologies that we are developing position Enilive as a leader in the  production of HVO biofuels and confirms the company’s strategy, distinguished by a strong  growth in offering increasingly sustainable products.

“Eni started investing in this field over a decade ago and Enilive will be  among the first companies in the world to produce significant quantities of SAF. By 2026, the SAF plant in Porto Marghera, in the Venice biorefinery, will also be operational, and by  2030 other plants will be commissioned in Italy and abroad.”