15.5 million euros for Saipem and Garbo's PET chemical recycling project

The ReNova ChemPET project for PET chemical recycling developed jointly by Saipem and Garbo based on their ChemPET technology has been selected by the European Commission to receive 15.5 million euros in funding under the 2024 EU Innovation Fund call, dedicated to Net-Zero technologies for medium-scale projects.

The EU Innovation Fund is one of the European Union's primary instruments supporting low-carbon technologies, and for the 2024 edition the European Commission selected 61 projects across 18 countries, including 4 Italian projects. The funding will be disbursed following the signing of the Grant Agreement with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), scheduled for March 2026.

ReNova ChemPET (pictured a rendering of the plant) envisages the construction in Cerano (Novara, Italy) of the first industrial-scale facility in Italy for PET chemical recycling, widely used in packaging, food containers and the textile industry. The plant, expected to commence operations in early 2029, will have an estimated annual capacity equivalent to recycling over 250 million PET bottles, which will be transformed into high-quality new plastic material for use in the textile industry. The ReNova ChemPET project also forms part of Saipem's 2025-2030 ESG strategy and Garbo's industrial vision oriented towards promoting solutions for sustainable chemistry and material recovery.

The ChemPET technology, owned by Saipem and Garbo, enables the depolymerisation of PET into high-quality new material even starting from coloured or complex plastics as well as polyester textiles, and represents a significant evolution compared to traditional mechanical recycling, thanks to simpler, safer and more sustainable processes that allow greater flexibility in feedstock supply. The Cerano plant is part of the collaboration pathway between Saipem and Garbo initiated in 2023 with the signing of the agreement for support in industrialisation, development and global commercialisation of ChemPET technology.