The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Eni have signed a landmark €500 million, 15-year loan to transform parts of Eni’s Sannazzaro de’ Burgondi refinery in Pavia, Italy, into a cutting-edge biorefinery.

 

The agreement was formalized by EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti and Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi.

 

The project will convert the refinery’s Hydrocracker (HDC2) unit using Enilive’s proprietary Ecofining technology and build a pre-treatment plant for waste materials, including used cooking oils, animal fats, and agri-food industry residues. These feedstocks will produce hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) biofuels for more sustainable mobility.

 

“This financing represents strategic support for a project with high environmental and industrial value, contributing to the decarbonisation of the transport sector, particularly aviation. Through this initiative, the EIB aims to strengthen Europe’s capacity to produce advanced fuels and to promote the circular and sustainable use of resources,” said Gelsomina Vigliotti.

 

Enilive’s Ecofining technology allows HVO to be produced from renewable feedstocks compliant with the EU Renewable Energy Directive. The biofuel is already available at more than 1,600 service stations across Europe and can be used in approved engines. From 2028, the Sannazzaro plant will begin producing both HVO diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) biojet, targeting a capacity of 550,000 tonnes per year.

 

Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi emphasized the strategic importance of the project: “This new agreement with the EIB demonstrates the effectiveness and robustness of the strategy we pursue through our businesses related to the energy transition. To deliver a tangible transition towards energy solutions that have an increasingly low environmental impact, it is essential to create businesses that can grow and generate value. 

 

"We achieve this by combining technology and the ability to deliver industrial-scale projects on the one hand, with a broad and growing customer base on the other. We see biorefining and biofuels as a fundamental component to support the progressive decarbonisation of transport – applicable across all segments of the sector, and already well aligned with existing demand. 

 

"We are the second largest producer of biofuels in Europe and are working on three refinery conversions in Italy. This follows the completion of two others in Venice and Gela, which are already making a major contribution towards a more environmentally sustainable supply for the transport sector.”

 

The Sannazzaro conversion will leverage existing infrastructure to produce HVO diesel and SAF alongside conventional fuels, reducing transport emissions and supporting Europe’s REPowerEU objectives to expand biofuel production. This follows a €500 million agreement in 2025 to convert Eni’s Livorno refinery and is part of Enilive’s goal to reach 5 million tonnes of biofuel production by 2030, including over 2 million tonnes of SAF.

 

With global biofuel use projected to grow from 4% of transport energy in 2024 to 12% by 2050, the Sannazzaro project underscores Eni’s commitment to sustainable energy and Europe’s green transition.