At the time of inauguration, Enel and Eni have completed the design stage and the monitoring activities have already started in order to assess CO₂ levels in the storage area; only the final authorizations are missing. The post-combustion pilot plant allows to capture up to a maximum of 8,000t CO₂ per year from Federico II to be stored at Cortemaggiore. From 2012 on, the pilot storage plant will be operational.

The “Federico II” thermal power plant which started operations in 1997, has a key role in electricity generation with its total installed capacity of 2,640 MW (made up of four 660 MW coal-fired units). Its retrofitting is therefore a step forward for CCS development in Italy.

The first application on an industrial scale will be at Enel’s new coal plant in Porto Tolle (Rovigo). The plant will treat 810 000m³ of fumes per hour (40% of those from one of three 660 MW units operating at the plant), separating up to 1 million metric tons of CO₂ per year, which will be stored in a saline aquifer deep below the Adriatic Sea.

The European Union granted Enel €100m in funding through the European Energy Recovery Programme (EERP) for its pilot project in Brindisi and for preliminary work on the larger-scale Porto Tolle plant, which will benefit from the know-how acquired with the Brindisi project.

Access the press release here.