Eni and RINA sign partnership to develop HVO biofuel

RINA, an international company specializing in inspection, certification and engineering consultancy, and Eni have signed an agreement to jointly develop initiatives that can contribute to the energy transition and decarbonization of their respective operations and particularly maritime transport, where RINA and Eni can benefit from each other's expertise, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Specifically, the agreement focuses on the use of HVO (Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil) biofuel produced by Eni in its Venice and Gela bio-refineries, as well as of other energy carriers such as “blue” or “green” hydrogen and ammonia from biogenic, renewable or waste raw materials not competing with the food chain, in the naval sector. Moreover, the partnership encompasses the development of initiatives for the logistics and value chain of new energy carriers, and the adoption of certified methods for the "taxonometric" calculation of the emissions benefits they will generate.

Eni and RINA will also consider carrying out experiments and pilot projects related to the on-board capture of CO2 emissions in order to further contribute to pursuing the naval sector's sustainability goals.

Ugo Salerno, Chairman and CEO of RINA, said: “Cooperation between companies is the way forward towards the common goal of decarbonizing industry and transport. By sharing know-how and experience with Eni, we will contribute to developing innovative energy supply models. Our collaboration will begin by focusing on the maritime sector, a diversified and hard-to-abate industry that can draw on initiatives already adopted by other industrial segments to decarbonize operations”.

Giuseppe Ricci, Chief Operating Officer for Energy Evolution at Eni, said: “Eni and RINA can make a significant contribution to the decarbonization of maritime transport with their wealth of expertise and technological capabilities. Following a technology-agnostic approach, we are exploring multiple solutions. Thanks to this agreement, we will have the opportunity to study and develop them in the short, medium and long term, with the objective of making maritime transport more sustainable and meeting the needs of shipowners and logistics operators”.

We remind, Eni has launched an initiative to encourage the use of HVOlution, Eni Sustainable Mobility’s first diesel produced from 100% renewable raw materials (according to EU Directive 2018/2001 'REDII'), by its suppliers' vehicles transporting fuels to Eni Live Stations. It aims to contribute to the decarbonisation of the heavy transport sector, which involves approximately 300 vehicles in Italy’s distribution service. To date, more than 200,000 km have been covered using pure HVO, making it a major contributor to CO2 emission reduction.

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A strategic partnership has been formed between Amcor, Mars, P&G, and Delterra to bring the latter’s upstream and downstream circular plastics solutions to scale in the Global South – an effort hoped to cut down on plastic pollution in the region, said Packagingeurope.

In the lead-up to the second negotiating committee meeting for a Global Plastics Treaty (INC-2), the partners state that plastic pollution ‘is a symptom of the broader issue of underperforming or non-existent waste management and circularity solutions’.

As such, the partnership seeks to invest in waste prevention programmes across the value chain. This includes the global rollout of Plastic IQ, Deltarra’s digital tool designed to help companies understand and improve their plastic footprint – enabling them to design waste out of the system and tackle upstream waste.

Furthermore, the company’s Rethinking Recycling programme aims to capture recyclable and compostable materials and direct them back into the loop, contributing to supply and demand. The investments are also set to develop material traceability solutions to provide transparency on source, quality, and ethical concerns along the recycling value chain.

We remind, Amcor, a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging solutions, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Moda Systems, a leading manufacturer of state-of-the-art, automated protein packaging machines.

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Trinseo and RWDC Industries LLC have entered an exclusive agreement to bring PHA dispersion technology to target markets and advance the development of sustainability-minded paper and board barrier coatings, said Packagingeurope.

The partners intend to meet rising demand for more sustainable alternatives to extruded polyethylene laminates, fibre processing with fluorochemicals, and other non-recyclable packaging materials and chemistries. PHA dispersion technology is hoped to result in water-based barrier coatings that can be composted, recycled in traditional paper processes, or biodegraded in soil and marine environments.

“We are constantly striving to refine our product portfolio to deliver innovative, customer-centric products that solve material challenges with tailored, sustainable solutions,” said Andre Hugentobler, Global New Business Development and Technology & Innovation Director, Latex Binders, Trinseo. “Our partnership with RWDC is a perfect example of a combined approach that allows both partners to focus on what they do best and jointly deliver technical solutions that will benefit our customers and the markets they serve."

“Our new partnership with Trinseo is a critical step in our journey to bring Solon PHA forward as an innovative material solution for an application that has high-performance requirements while being environmentally safe,” added Blake Lindsey, chief commercial officer at RWDC Industries. “This is an exciting time for RWDC, and we are pleased to be working alongside global leaders like Trinseo to bring both best- and first-in-class materials to the marketplace.”

We remind, Trinseo has added a new grade to its Magnum ABS family. Complementing the bio formulations of the material made with 60 and 80 percent bio-attributed content made available in late 2022, the company has now launched a version with 95 percent mass-balanced renewably sourced content.

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MOL Group has agreed on a deal with BayWa AG on the purchase of Szarvas Biogas Plant, a waste processing plant using organic wastes to produce electricity and heat through cogeneration with a peak electric power capacity of around 4 megawatts (MW), said Chemengonline.

The plant processes more than 40,000 tonnes of waste a year from meat production in the region and another 53,000 tons of residual waste (such as slurry and manure) from neighboring livestock and meat processing farms. In addition, around 18,000 tons of agricultural substrate is used as feedstock for the plant, altogether which produces in excess of 12.5 million cubic meters of biogas.

MOL Group strives to expand its biofuel portfolio to meet the goals set by the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive. This acquisition is also in line with the aims of the REPowerEU action plan, which has set a high target for biogas and methane production to reasonably increase the overall energy independence of the European Union. A sense of responsibility for the security of the energy supply in the Central and Eastern European region is a fundamental part of MOL Group’s identity and mindset for operation and development.

For MOL Group, the acquisition of Szarvas Biogas Plant is a great opportunity to expand the company’s sustainable energy production portfolio with the potential to realize valuable synergies inside the company. The plant not only possesses one of the largest biogas production capacity in Central Eastern Europe, it is also located in an area where MOL’s Exploration and Production activities are present and active. This creates a unique synergy by providing infrastructure to the biogas facilities for upgrading their gas products. MOL Group is also delighted about the in-house know-how, best practices, and knowledge generation opportunities that Szarvas Biogas Plant can bring to the Group, to further boost the development of MOL Group’s sustainable portfolio, while demonstrating the company’s credible intent to become a regional trendsetter in the energy transformation.

We remind, MOL expects to be able to choose between Russian or non-Russian crude for its refineries by 2026, its Chairman and Chief Executive Zsolt Hernadi told Reuters, by implementing substantial investments.

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Russia is leaning towards leaving oil production volumes unchanged ahead of an OPEC+ policy meeting on June 4 because Moscow is content with current prices and output, three sources with knowledge of current Russian thinking told Reuters.

OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries with Russia and other allies, surprised the market on April 2 with further output cuts that pushed up the price of oil.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that energy prices were approaching "economically justified" levels. Putin's point man on oil, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, said on Thursday that he didn't expect new steps from OPEC+.

Novak said that Russia and its OPEC+ partners would make a decision on what is best for the oil market when they meet in Vienna.

By supporting current production levels, Moscow hopes it will be able to maintain stable oil prices without exceeding the West's imposed price cap of USD60 per barrel for its Urals blend. "Further production cuts are unlikely," a source familiar with Russia's position told Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

A second source, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said that it was not in Russia's interests to reduce oil output right now. Russia has already pledged to reduce its output by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 9.5 million bpd from March until year-end.

"Russia is hardly coping with the promised production cuts, while it doesn't need additional cuts in the current market environment," a source in a Russian oil major told Reuters. The Russian government declined to comment on OPEC+ policy.

Russia is the world's second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia, whose energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman this week warned short sellers to "watch out". The West's attempt to impose a price cap on Russian oil has complicated Moscow's output calculations - unlike the rest of OPEC+, it isn't seeking to maximize prices.

If Russia can keep the Urals price below the price cap, it makes it easier to keep its oil flowing to the global market. Urals has been trading at between USD53 and USD57 per barrel per barrel this month, a comfortable range for Russia.

We remind, Czech Republic can cover its oil needs through shipments via the Transalpine Pipeline (TAL) pipeline from 2025, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Tuesday after the country signed a deal to boost capacity along the link.
The Czech government is looking to eliminate all dependence on Russian oil in the coming years, and thus end its exemptions from a European Union ban on imports from Moscow last year. Czech refineries are owned by Polish state-controlled refiner PKN Orlen, which said in April it terminated a contract for Russian oil supplies for its Polish refineries.

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