The Mediterranean decarbonization hub: Ravenna CCS as a strategic infrastructure to preserve European industrial competitiveness

The European Union’s journey toward Net Zero by 2050 is no longer a matter of mere environmental ambition; it has become an existential challenge for industrial sovereignty. As the “Industrial Carbon Management” strategy and the “Clean Industrial Deal” by the European Commission suggest, reaching our climate goals while maintaining a competitive manufacturing base requires a pragmatic, multi-technology approach. In this landscape, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a fundamental decarbonization lever. For Snam, and for Italy, the Ravenna CCS Project represents the cornerstone of this new European energy geography.

Enabling CCS: a necessity for hard-to-abate sectors and beyond

A common misconception in the current climate debate is that electrification and renewable energy alone can decarbonise the entire economy. This view fails to recognise that the effectiveness of these levers ends at the doorstep of hard-to-abate industries, where fundamental process constraints apply.

At times when the strategic autonomy of the EU and the promotion of clean and domestic value chains for “made in EU products” are at the top of the political agenda, it is crucial to understand the fundamental process constraints that apply to CO₂ emissions reduction in sectors such as cement, steel, and chemicals, which form the backbone of the European economy and support millions of jobs. 

CO₂ emissions in these sectors fall into two main categories: combustion emissions from burning fuels to reach the extreme process temperatures, and process emissions inherent to the underlying chemistry (for example, limestone calcination in cement, responsible for about 60–70% of the sector’s emissions).

While cutting combustion emissions in hard-to-abate sectors remains technically and economically constrained at scale, process emissions are fundamentally unavoidable and therefore structurally embedded in these industries.

Beyond hard-to-abate sectors, CCS can enhance the role of Waste-to-Energy by enabling carbon-neutral or carbon-negative waste treatment, while delivering electricity and heat to local communities. CCS also supports decarbonised, flexible, and dispatchable power generation, which is essential to enable higher penetration of renewables without compromising grid stability.

Over the longer term, the development of capture technologies and the availability of transport and storage infrastructure will unlock large-scale carbon removals through BECCS and DACCS, required to rebalance atmospheric CO₂ levels, while the capacity of natural ecosystems to absorb CO₂ is progressively decreasing due to climate change. In parallel, a growing CO₂ utilisation market can leverage existing infrastructure and complement the CCS value chain.

From Ravenna CCS to CALLISTO: a strategic infrastructure for Europe and the Mediterranean

Ravenna CCS Project, developed in joint venture by Eni and Snam, provides over 70% of planned CO₂ storage capacity in Southern Europe. The project, which successfully completed the first operational phase that began in 2024, is on track to reach a storage capacity of 4 million tonnes per year (Mtpa) by 2030, in line with the Net Zero Industry Act’s 2030 target of 50 Mtpa. Looking further ahead, the project will expand to store 16 million tonnes per year by 2040, serving a wider array of industrial districts. Cumulative potential storage capacity exceeds 500 million tonnes.

Ravenna CCS is characterized by a precise and modular roadmap, which ensures that the infrastructure remains optimized for the actual demand, to avoid the risk of underutilization.

Its operational success serves as the foundation for a much broader infrastructure strategy. Snam is currently spearheading the development of a dedicated CO₂ transport network in Northern Italy, designed to connect major industrial clusters to the offshore storage sites. The first phase of the pipeline development, which has already been submitted for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), includes a combination of repurposing existing assets (about 20 km pipeline formerly used for natural gas) and laying new infrastructure (about 80 km). To meet the anticipated demand of 4 Mtpa by 2030, the network under study is expected to extend to a total of approximately 350 km.

Ravenna CCS is embedded in the more ambitious CALLISTO (CArbon LIquefaction transportation and STOrage) Mediterranean CO₂ Network. Confirmed in the Project of Common Interest (PCI) list under the TEN-E Regulation in November 2025, CALLISTO aims to establish the first integrated industrial CCUS value chain in the Mediterranean. The project foresees CO₂ collection hubs in Italy (the Po Valley, Priolo-Augusta, and Taranto) and France (Fos-Marseille). Its multimodal infrastructure (pipelines and shipping) can also serve industrial clusters across Southern Europe, including Greece, the Balkans, Spain, and Austria, which lack sufficient domestic CO₂ storage capacity relative to their needs.

This cross-border connectivity, enabled by the infrastructural facilities developed also for the Ravenna CCS project, and facilitated by Snam’s and Eni’s expertise in managing complex, integrated energy systems, aligns perfectly with the EU’s vision for shared European assets for climate resilience and interconnected CO₂ transport network. 

Market validation: demand outstripping supply

One of the most compelling arguments for the necessity of developing Ravenna CCS is the resounding signal from the market. In 2024, Eni and Snam conducted an extensive market survey to assess the potential demand for CO₂ transport and storage services in Italy. The results were clear: the demand from industrial operators is six times the targeted 2030 CO₂ storage capacity and 2.5 times the long-term maximum capacity.  

This is not a theoretical interest. Numerous industrial players, both in Italy and across Europe, have already secured funding through the EU Innovation Fund for their carbon capture projects. Crucially, many of these beneficiaries have explicitly identified Ravenna CCS as their reference storage site. Synchronization between industrial capture projects on one hand, and Snam and Eni’s infrastructure development on the other, is vital.

Data show that the market views CCS not as a distant possibility, but as a near-term operational requirement. However, for this potential to be fully realized, the transition from pilot projects to a full-scale industrial value chain must be enabled by a robust and transparent regulatory framework.

Much like the gas and electricity grids, CO₂ transport and storage infrastructures need a non-discriminatory “open access” for all emitters, the prevention of market distortions, and long-term predictability to de-risk their investments. A regulated model, overseen by independent authorities, has proven to be the most effective way to achieve these objectives and ensure that CCS infrastructures remain a neutral enabler of competitiveness for the entire European industrial fabric, rather than a fragmented set of private assets.

The economic rationality: cost of inaction and cross-technology comparison

Any decarbonization solution must be assessed against both its economics and the cost of “inaction”. As EU ETS allowance prices rise, the financial burden on non-decarbonising industries risks becoming unsustainable. In this context, the Ravenna CCS project is an exercise in resource efficiency: by repurposing existing offshore platforms and parts of the pipeline network, it minimizes capital expenditure and environmental impact compared to greenfield projects. This is circularity applied to infrastructure. Moreover, the project acts as a catalyst for economic growth, with Phase II expected to generate over €22.7 billion in value across the CCUS value chain over the next six years in Southern Europe.

A detailed cost assessment focused on CCS in Italy was performed by the Italian Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security (August 2025). Elaborating these data, the subsidies required to kick-start the CCS value chain in Italy result in a significantly lower cost of abatement than alternatives, such as renewables and energy-efficiency, which have received the bulk of public funding to date.

Ensuring integrity: safety, monitoring, and the “focal operator” role

Infrastructure of this scale demands the highest standards of transparency and safety. Experienced developers such as Snam, with a proven track record in complex energy infrastructure, are responsible for ensuring the full integrity of CO₂ transport and storage and for communicating this clearly and consistently. This is essential to address the persistent gap in public acceptance of CCS, which continues to lag behind other decarbonisation technologies without objective justification.

The depleted gas fields in the Adriatic have contained natural gas for millions of years, demonstrating their geomechanical stability. Building on decades of geological expertise, advanced subsurface modelling, and real-time monitoring technologies, the project ensures permanent and secure CO₂ sequestration.

Operated within a strict regulatory framework and in continuous dialogue with national and European authorities, CCS is deployed as a responsible, robust, and verifiable solution for emissions that cannot otherwise be abated.

Conclusion: Leadership through infrastructure

The European Clean Industrial Deal has shifted the debate from the “what” to the “how” of delivering EU decarbonization and competitiveness goals. In this implementation phase, infrastructure is decisive, and CCS development, like all large-scale infrastructure, requires a stable and predictable policy framework with 15–20 years of visibility.

The long-awaited EU regulatory framework for CO₂ transport is therefore essential for projects such as Ravenna CCS and CALLISTO. By clarifying long-term liability, permitting, and operational standards, it is expected to provide the certainty needed to unlock investment, support industrial decarbonization strategies, and enable cross-border CO₂ transport and storage.

Integrating CCS into Europe’s strategic energy backbone goes beyond meeting climate targets: it underpins industrial competitiveness and technological leadership. Through initiatives like Ravenna CCS and the CALLISTO Mediterranean CO₂ Network, the Mediterranean can evolve from a transit corridor into a hub of a new, sustainable industrial system.

Europe’s choice is straightforward: build tomorrow’s infrastructure today, or risk losing the industries that shaped our past.