The carbon dioxide that comes out of the chimneys of the incinerators may be captured and stored in depleted natural gas fields: this is an innovative project developed by Hera and Saipem to decarbonise the territories. The project, which will be used on the Herambiente waste-to-energy plant in Ferrara, has been selected to receive the funding foreseen by the fourth call for mid-scale projects of theEU Innovation Fund. Once the allocation is final, the amount allocated to this CO2 capture project will be almost 24 million. European funds will cover a significant share of the 53 million euros expected for the construction of the CO2 capture plant which should be operational in 2028.
The first in Italy and among the first in Europe
The project is the first in Italy designed to be applied to waste-to-energy plants and among the first in Europe. It provides for the application of Blue Enzyme, proprietary and modular solution of Saipem based on CO2 Solutions, a Enzyme technology innovative for the capture of carbon dioxide in the industrial processes of small and medium emitters. “The recognition by the EU Innovation Fund confirms the high level of innovation of Saipem's Bluenzyme technology for the decarbonisation of small and medium emitters in hard to abate sectors with a unique project at Italian and European level that strengthens the role of our company in accompanying its customers on the path towards carbon neutrality", declared Saipem's CEO, Alessandro Puliti.
We start with the Ferrara waste-to-energy plant
The plant Herambiente of Ferrara has been identified as the most suitable. The project will, in fact, allow for the capture of approximately 90% of the emissions from one of the two lines of the waste-to-energy plant, or 64 thousand tons of CO2 per year (equivalent to the annual emissions of 37 thousand cars), which constitute the totality of the CO2 emitted, thus making the entire energy production obtained from the waste-to-energy of unsorted waste sustainable. The captured CO2 will be transported via pipeline and stored in the exhausted gas fields of the upper Adriatic. The new plant will be totally green, because it will exploit electricity from renewable sources, i.e. produced both by the waste-to-energy plant itself and by the heat supplied by a geothermal source conveyed through the multi-utility's district heating network.
Hera obtained the highest score in the European tender
Hera, one of the main Italian multi-utilities, confirms itself as a pioneer in the pursuit of carbon neutrality, a central theme in its strategy: this project represents, in fact, one of the main internal levers envisaged by the company's climate transition plan aimed at reducing emissions with the goal of reaching net zero by 2050. Of the 4,4 billion investments envisaged by Hera in the industrial plan for the period 2023-2027, more than 30% are earmarked for projects to promote decarbonisation. "We have achieved the highest score in the European tender of the Innovation Fund: this confirms the absolutely innovative nature of this initiative", underlined the CEO of Hera, Horace Iacono. “This is a very important milestone, as we are pioneers in Italy with this industrial-scale solution for capturing CO2 applied to waste-to-energy plants.” This is a safe technology that can be replicated on other plants in Italy and abroad. “With this solution, in an important sector such as waste treatment and energy generation, we are extending the life of plants by increasing their resilience,” added Iacono.
Today the Saipem board of directors will analyze the third quarter accounts
Today the Saipem board of directors meets to analyze the accounts for the third quarter of 2024. The analysts of Equity believe that the results can confirm the trend of sustained growth in turnover/EBITDA – respectively expected +13% and +48% year-on-year in the quarter – thanks to the performance of the offshore E&C division, while the profitability of the onshore and drilling divisions is expected to improve marginally. “Order intake will be abundant in the quarter at 6,8 billion thanks to the oil projects in Saudi Arabia and the gas project in Qatar. We estimate a book-to-bill ratio of 2 times. Following the third quarter order intake, at the end of September we had raised our 2026 EBITDA estimates by 3%", Sim analysts recall, who also expect Saipem to confirm its 2024 outlook, i.e. revenues of 12,7-13,3 billion against the 13,3 billion expected by analysts, an EBITDA of 1,27-1,33 billion (1,3 estimated) with an EBITDA margin of 10%, an operating free cash flow after leases of 740-780 million (819 million expected), a CAPEX of 440-480 million (450 million expected) and a dividend payout of 30%-40%.
Saipem shares have corrected 10% in the last three months on the Milan Stock Exchange due to the volatility of the Brent price, despite the good order intake in September. Today they are listed at 2,03 euros, down 1,55%. “Based on estimates for 2025, they are trading at 9 times the price/earnings multiple and offer a free cash flow yield of 11%, slightly on sale compared to competitors, respectively, at 10 times the p/ee with a free cash flow yield of 10%. We confirm the hold rating with a target price of 2,30 euros” say Equita analysts. Stifel raised the rating on the stock from hold to buy and the target price from 2,30 to 2,50 euros. The consensus collected by Bloomberg highlights 19 buy ratings, 3 hold and 0 sell with an average target price of 2,86 euros.
