Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) granted Snam a ESG-linked financing (linked to the achievement of sustainable objectives) of 200 million euros, for the renovation of the Ravenna-Chieti gas pipeline. The operation will strengthen the infrastructure dedicated to the transport of natural gas from Southern to Northern Italy and will also be compatible with the transport of hydrogen. The main line will be completed by 2026.
ESG-linked financing, in particular, is connected to annual sustainability targets the achievement of which is linked to credit line spread and it has one expiry in 4 years. This sustainable financing follows the 300 million euro loan granted in April 2023 by CDP to Snam for the construction of the Adriatica Line, the new gas pipeline under construction which aims to ensure the increase in the transport capacity of entry points located in Southern Italy and whose phase 1 is among the projects to be financed under the RepowerEU Plan. The Ravenna-Chieti gas pipeline will be interconnected to this structure.
“CDP’s support for sustainable development is also achieved through support for strategic infrastructure projects for the country, citing the objectives of our Strategic Plan, with particular attention to the environment as in this case” he commented Carlo Lamari, Head of Infrastructure at Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, “An example of crucial infrastructure is the major works such as the renovation of Snam’s Ravenna-Chieti gas pipeline which, once completed, will be functional to the national network also with a view to the energy transition. Our intervention logic will continue to be complementary to the banking system, and confirms the validity of the support in favor of Snam’s Adriatica Line to which CDP has ensured the resources necessary to start the project with a 300 million loan”.
“Consistent with the growing importance that sustainable finance and related tools are assuming in the current scenario, we have aligned our financial strategy with the group’s sustainability objectives, making a tangible contribution to the path towards net zero by 2050 that Snam has undertaken”, has explained Luca Passa, Chief Financial Officer of Snam. “This commitment has resulted in the definition of a new target aimed at increasing the weight of sustainable finance on total funding to 85% by 2027. This ESG-linked financing from CDP, linked to the achievement of sustainable objectives, enhances the Snam’s ambition to invest in infrastructure works that respect the principle of the energy trilemma, i.e. security, competitiveness and sustainability, pursuing the objectives of decarbonisation and the country’s energy transition”.
The characteristics of Snam’s Ravenna-Chieti gas pipeline
The Ravenna-Chieti gas pipeline is made up of 292 kilometers of main pipeline and 133 kilometers of secondary lines, and ensures the natural gas transport service to the areas of the Adriatic coastal strip, from the province of Ravenna to the province of Chieti, involving Emilia-Romagna. Romagna, Marche and Abruzzo.
The use of trenchless technologies, i.e. without trench excavation, combined with environmental restoration at the conclusion of the works, will make it possible to safeguard the surrounding environment and vegetation, allowing the complete reconstitution of the original naturalistic and landscape conditions of the territory. The materials of which the renewed infrastructure will be made are suitable for the transport of hydrogen, according to the provisions of the ASME B.31.12 standard, currently considered the international reference on the topic of hydrogen transport via pipeline.
The main pipeline consists of three autonomous traits: Ravenna-Jesi of approximately 142 kilometers as a replacement, Jesi-Recanati of approximately 30 kilometers, already subject to replacement and which entered into service in December 2019 and therefore not part of the current renovation project, Recanati-Chieti of approximately 150 kilometers as a replacement . The renovation of the main line is expected by 2026, while that of the secondary lines is currently expected by the end of 2027.
The gas pipeline directly serves 130 redelivery points to distribution networks, 2 interconnection points with other transport networks, 64 industrial users, 3 electricity production plants and 59 methane gas plants for vehicles, for overall volumes of approximately 1. 6 billion cubic meters per year. The pipeline also collects the production of 9 natural gas production fields, for a total annual volume of approximately 0.9 billion cubic meters.
