The new technology that converts unrecyclable waste to hydrogen is planned to be implemented at Eni's industrial sites in Italy

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Image: Both the companies have signed partnership agreement to develop a new conversion technology. Photo: Courtesy of Ben Kerckx from Pixabay.

Italian multinational oil and gas company Eni announced that it is working together with Maire Tecnimont’s green chemistry subsidiary NextChem, on a project that turns waste into new energy, hydrogen and methanol.

Both the companies have signed partnership agreement to develop a conversion technology based on high-temperature gasification to produce hydrogen and methanol from solid urban waste and non-recyclable plastic with minimal environmental impact.

Maire Tecnimont Group CEO Pierroberto Folgiero said: “This technological partnership with Eni, a leader in the sector, is an exceptionally important step for our green acceleration project. Energy transition requires the industrialisation of new transformation processes, and with NextChem we are ready to respond to the growing demand for change.”

Eni and NextChem together will evaluate the technical and financial impact of the new technology

Eni said that it has already expressed interest in evaluating the Waste to Hydrogen project at its bio-refinery in Porto Marghera, Venice, and has carried out a feasibility study in collaboration with NextChem.

The agreement is expected to strengthen the position of Eni as co-developer of NextChem’s technology, and provides a tangible example of the circular economy, as it helps reuse non-recyclable waste to produce chemical products and fuel.

In addition, the project also contributes to the environmental sustainability at Eni’s industrial sites, and is expected to form part of an integrated and efficient system designed to reduce atmospheric emissions of CO².

Eni chief refining & marketing officer Giuseppe Ricci said: “This partnership will see Eni acquire highly innovative technology. When this technology is combined with the rich technological assets that Eni has accumulated over decades of refining, it will help to establish a tangible circular economic process whereby fuel is produced from waste with low environmental impact.”

In March 2019, Eni signed an agreement with Corepla, the National Consortium for the Collection, Recycling and Recovery of Plastic Packaging, to launch projects that produce hydrogen from non-recyclable plastic packaging waste.