Anaergia, Eni, CREvolution launch circular-economy project at Gela biorefinery in Sicily

Anaergia Inc.
15 minutes ago
2 min read

The Eni biorefinery in Sicily, Italy. (Photo: Eni)

Anaergia Inc., through its subsidiary Anaergia S.r.l., has entered into a contract with Circular Renewable Evolution S.r.l. to supply its proprietary anaerobic-digestion technology as part of a 50-million-euro (USD$59 million) initiative at Eni’s Gela biorefinery.

The agreement includes approximately CAD$13 million (USD$9.5 million) of Anaergia equipment and systems.

According to Anaergia, this initiative represents a breakthrough in the sustainable production of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), bionaphtha and biobased liquefied petroleum gas.

“These renewable fuels are in exceptionally high global demand, yet few competitors have built scaled, commercially proven solutions,” Anaergia stated.

By developing a system designed for replication across global biorefineries, the partnership establishes a clear runway for large‑scale rollout in a fast‑expanding HVO market.

The project integrates Anaergia’s advanced anaerobic-digestion system with a complementary thermal treatment process to recover and regenerate degumming soil, currently treated externally and often bound for landfill.

Anaergia’s proprietary high viscosity digestion technologies are engineered to process challenging, high dry-matter materials, enabling the facility to:

Recover over 80 percent of degumming-soil residues.

Generate more than 70,000 megawatt-hours of renewable natural gas (RNG) annually.

Materially decarbonize energy use at the Gela refinery.

Significantly reduce operating and waste-disposal costs.

Installation and commissioning are expected to be completed by May 2027.

The Gela site will serve as a global demonstration facility, designed to validate a replicable, circular-economy model for the HVO sector, according to Anaergia.

“With more than 250 HVO plants worldwide and the market projected to expand by over 35 percent by 2030, the technology positions Anaergia, Eni and CREvolution at the forefront of a sector urgently seeking scalable, low-carbon solutions,” the company stated.

By recovering waste streams and converting them into both reusable raw materials and renewable energy, the project provides a commercially attractive pathway for reducing carbon intensity while lowering operating expenses, a value proposition that is increasingly compelling for biorefineries globally.

“This collaboration underscores Anaergia’s strength as a technology partner to some of the world’s most forward-looking energy companies,” said Assaf Onn, CEO of Anaergia. “By transforming what was once considered waste into renewable energy and reusable material, we are enabling a scalable solution for a rapidly growing HVO market.”

Fabrizio Lami, the chief operating officer of CREvolution, said, “Through this initiative, we are setting a new benchmark for sustainable HVO production. Efficient waste reduction, cost optimization and circularity will be essential competitive differentiators as the HVO market accelerates.”

An Eni spokesperson added, “This initiative demonstrates Eni’s commitment to sustainable innovation with measurable impact. By regenerating degumming soil through an integrated process that also produces renewable energy, we significantly reduce waste-disposal costs and operating expenses while advancing circularity across our biorefining operations.”

Once validated, the Gela model is expected to be replicated across Eni’s biorefineries and adapted broadly across the global HVO industry.

For investors, the initiative: