Enilive, Eni‘s mobility transformation company, has commenced operations of its first sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant, at Gela biorefinery in Sicily, Italy.
The facility has an annual production capacity of 400,000t, which represents nearly “a third of the expected European SAF demand in 2025”.
The Gela biorefinery’s SAF production aligns with the ReFuelEU Aviation regulation, which mandates a gradual increase in SAF blending for jet fuels within the European Union (EU).
Aviation fuel providers are required to blend a minimum of 2% SAF from 1 January 2025, reaching 70% by 2050, as per the regulation.
The biorefinery, capable of processing 736,000t of biomass annually, utilises waste and residual feedstocks such as used cooking oils and animal fats.
SAF production at the biorefinery was enabled through recent plant modifications, especially to the isomerisation unit.
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Furthermore, upgrades to the tank farm and logistics infrastructure, along with improvements to the feedstock pretreatment section, including a new degumming line, are set to enhance the variety of waste and residues that can be transformed into biofuels.
Enilive CEO Stefano Ballista said: “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.”
Enilive has signed agreements with several airlines since September 2022, capitalising on synergies between the Gela facility and other Eni operations.
The company aims to extend its capabilities beyond the Gela plant, with plans to expand biorefining capacity to over five million tonnes per year by 2030 and increase SAF production to one million tonnes per year by 2026.
This growth is supported by ongoing projects at the Venice biorefinery and new biorefinery constructions in Malaysia and South Korea, potentially doubling production by 2030.
In 2022, Italy’s Sea Group, DHL Express Italy, and Eni agreed to trial Eni Biojet, a sustainable aviation fuel, on DHL Express flights from Milan Malpensa Airport.
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