MILAN Eni and Snam have launched Italy's first carbon capture, transport and storage (CCS) project to help heavy polluting industries cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, they said on Tuesday.

CCS technology removes from the atmosphere CO2 produced by industrial processes or captures it at the point of emission and stores it underground.

Eni and Snam said they had started injecting CO2 into a depleted gas field in the Adriatic Sea close to the Italian city of Ravenna, in an initiative announced a year ago.

In its first phase, the project will capture, transport and store CO2 from Eni's natural gas treatment plant in the municipality of Ravenna, estimated at approximately 25,000 tonnes per year.

Once captured, the CO2 will be transported to an offshore platform through converted gas pipelines and then injected and stored at a depth of 3,000 metres in an old gas reservoir.

The project is powered by electricity from renewable sources, the energy group and the gas network operator said.

It is already delivering a reduction of over 90% in CO2 emissions from Eni plant's chimney, rising to peaks of 96%, they added.

The International Energy Agency says CCS can play a vital role in achieving global climate goals. But critics say it risks prolonging the use of fossil fuels and question its commercial viability.

Eni said the project was attracting customers' attention.

"We are using our depleted fields, existing infrastructure, and technical expertise in re-injection techniques to offer a very competitive service, which is receiving tremendous interest," CEO Claudio Descalzi said in a statement.

The Ravenna project is a candidate to become the Italian hub for the decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries that are difficult to be electrified such as the ceramic, glass and steel sectors. The hub will offer its services first to the industrial districts in central Italy but also aims to attract the interest of European companies.

Over the coming years, the industrial-scale development of the project will be able to store up to four million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030.

  - Reuters