The European Investment Bank has signed a €500 million, 15-year loan with Eni to convert part of Eni’s Sannazzaro de’ Burgondi refinery in northern Italy into a biorefinery.
The agreement was signed by EIB vice-president Gelsomina Vigliotti and Eni chief executive Claudio Descalzi, the EIB announced on Wednesday.
Work at the site in the province of Pavia will include converting the refinery’s Hydrocracker (HDC2) unit using Eni’s Ecofining™ technology, and building a pre-treatment plant to process waste materials such as used cooking oils, animal fats and waste from the agri-food industry.
The plant is due to start producing hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) diesel biofuels and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) biojet from 2028, with capacity of around 550,000 tonnes a year.
HVO is a biofuel made from renewable feedstocks such as used cooking oils and waste from the agri-food industry, as defined under the EU Renewable Energy Directive.
Second €500m deal with Eni on biorefining
The Sannazzaro financing is the second €500 million agreement between the EIB and Eni focused on biorefining, following a deal signed in July 2025 to fund the conversion of Eni’s Livorno refinery, the EIB said.
Pure HVO is already available at more than 1,600 Enilive service stations across Europe, according to the statement. Enilive is Eni’s company focused on mobility.
Vigliotti said the financing would support decarbonisation of transport, “particularly aviation”, and would help strengthen Europe’s capacity to produce “advanced fuels” and promote circular use of resources.
Descalzi stated Eni viewed biorefining and biofuels as a component in cutting emissions in transport “across all segments”, adding that the company was working on three refinery conversions in Italy, including Sannazzaro, and had previously converted sites in Venice and Gela.
