Sign MOU to collaborate on Circular Economy and Decarbonisation

Two prominent Italian companies – integrated energy leader Eni and shipbuilder Fincatieri – announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for the joint evaluation of opportunities for the development of innovative initiatives in the field of decarbonisation and circular economy. The MOU is an extension of an agreement signed by the two companies in May 2017 establishing a research and development partnership to carry out studies on energy projects related to natural gas.

Over the past three years, Eni and Fincantieri have collaborated to the development of several concepts of floating offshore production platforms, with a modular and reversible approach, developed according to a Fincantieri patent, a Floating Gas to Methanol with Eni technology and a Floating Independent Power Plant (FIPP).

The activities stemming from the extended agreement will focus mainly on waste to energy, production and transport of energy carriers as natural gas, methanol or hydrogen, fuel cells applications, the development and deployment of off-shore renewable technologies.

Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni, stated:

“Thanks to the developed synergies, Fincantieri and Eni will concretely support the country’s sustainable development. This agreement perfectly fits into the long-term strategy we have designed. To build the new Eni we have combined economic and environmental sustainability, we are working on a just transition by providing energy in a profitable way and, at the same time, obtaining an important reduction in the carbon footprint. Natural gas, a fossil energy source with the lowest carbon footprint, will represent in Eni’s production mix an increasing component in the coming years: 60% in 2025, reaching 85% in 2050. In this process, Fincantieri represents a strategic partner with whom we continue to research and develop innovative technologies and systems “.

Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, commented:

“We believe that the success of this partnership is very good news for Italy, especially given that the cooperation explores a key sector such as the one of sustainable development. The ability of big two national industrial players to pool experiences, professional skills, and above all their visions for the future is a huge strategic achievement”. Bono concluded: “I am very pleased because the research path we are charting with a group such as Eni has already led to the creation of several projects, consolidating the technological lead which allowed our companies to obtain important achievements worldwide”.

Circular economy is becoming an increasingly central focus in sustainable investing, and emerging as an important ESG investment theme. The practice involves refocusing the entire industrial process – from product design through production, distribution, usage  and disposal – on eliminating waste through the continual use and re-use of resources.