The Role of CCUS Technologies in the Energy Transition

Stefano Maione began his presentation by discussing the challenge the energy industry faces with decarbonization. Eni has already included sustainability in its industrial strategy, and recently incorporated sustainable development goals into its corporate mission. It also plans to make its upstream business carbon neutral by 2030.

He said the consensus on Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) is that the best way forward is a hub-and-cluster model, which collects CO2 from a variety of emission-intense facilities for conveyance into geological storage. Governments will support the development of the CCUS sector with a combination of regulation, tax breaks, and other incentive schemes. The EU and US are offering impressive incentives and doing great advocacy work to help offset growing costs.

In conclusion, Mr. Maione reiterated that the industry and global policymakers must work together to develop new and cheaper capture technologies. They also need to work closely with regulators in developing a new carbon network infrastructure, ensuring economies of scale and, most importantly, a second more sustainable life for industrial assets, avoiding unemployment and economic decline for local communities.