Turin, 4 July 2017 – Eni,The City of Turin, GTT (Gruppo Torinese Trasporti) and Amiat, an Iren Group company, have signed an agreement today to launch a large-scale experimental project with Turin buses using Eni Diesel+, the new Eni fuel with a 15% of renewable component. Under the agreement, the Turin public transport company will pay Eni Diesel+ at the same price as the diesel fuel that its vehicles have used on the urban network up to now. This follows Eni’s success at the tender to supply the fuel for Turin’s buses.
From 4 July to 31 October, the GTT city bus fleet’s 650 vehicles currently fuelled with conventional diesel, will use the new fuel. Based on Eni's research, the new fuel allows significant reductions of pollutant emissions - in particular unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and particulate matter - to keep the engine clean and to ensure optimal combustion efficiency. This results in lower engine maintenance and a reduction in fuel consumption up to 4% because of high calorific value.
GTT will test the new fuel, reporting to Eni any malfunction or anomaly that its vehicles might experience during the trial period. Eni will use one bus from the fleet at its Laboratories in San Donato Milanese to carry out other experimental tests. The tests will aim to validate the positive impact deriving from the use of Eni Diesel+ in terms of pollutant emissions reductions and combustion efficiency, with the co-operation and supervision of the Istituto Motori of the National Research Council of Naples.
The City of Turin - which last March adhered to the Seville Declaration, a document by which more than 60 local European administrations have committed themselves to encourage "circular economy" policies within cities - will promote the collection of used vegetable oils from households. In agreement with the City of Turin, Amiat will also promote used vegetable oils collection among residents with new collection points in the area. Public transports in the municipality’s area will use waste fuel oil recovered after purification treatment carried out by specialized companies and will be transformed into biofuel at the Eni Refinery in Venice and then used to fuel the public transport of the Muncipality. Moreover, this will contribute to reducing pollutant emissions and put into practice a concrete example of consumer waste exploitation.
Eni is the first company in the world to have converted a conventional refinery into a bio refinery in Venice with an entirely Italian patent. The bio refinery can transform raw biological sources, including used and regenerated vegetable oils, into high-grade biofuels. The used oils of Turin residents will soon be available for use as fuel for public transport, giving a virtuous and concrete example of circular economy.
Eni plans to cover all Italian biofuel requirements by 2020, thanks to the Gela refinery startup, and to produce energy and fuels from advanced feedstock, such as animal waste and fats, by using innovative technologies.
