MILAN/NOVARA, Italy – Intesa Sanpaolo and Novamont have signed a 20-million-euro loan agreement to finance two innovative circular economy projects: the completion of the world’s first plant in Terni for generating, from renewable sources, a new sugar-derived monomer, furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), a raw material used in the production of high-performance biodegradable and compostable biomaterials; the construction, at the plant in Bottrighe (Rovigo), of a bio-methane plant using fermentation residues that will make the Polesine site the most efficient facility for the production of chemical intermediates from renewable sources in Europe in terms of energy characteristics and environmental impact.
The investment plan for Terni agreed with Intesa Sanpaolo involves the upstream integration of Novamont’s production chain with the construction of the world’s first demonstration plant capable of producing the new FDCA monomer using Novamont’s proprietary technology.
The monomer, which until now has never been produced industrially from renewable sources, can be processed using existing lines together with other bio-monomers in the Novamont chain for the synthesis of new compostable bio-plastics (fifth-generation Mater-Bi) which are suitable for developing new applications with a high degree of renewability and extremely high performance (oxygen and carbon dioxide barrier for the food packaging sector, coffee capsules, etc.), which can replace packaging made from fossil sources thus minimising the production of CO2.
At the Mater-Biotech plant in Bottrighe, the world’s first plant for the industrial production of bio-butanediol from sugars through fermentation, Intesa Sanpaolo’s circular loan will enable Novamont to implement an industrial-scale plant to upgrade the quality of biogas produced by the fermentation of spent microorganisms. Once completed, it will become the first UNI/ISO 11567 certified plant in Italy for the production of advanced biofuels from renewable process by-products. Through chemical absorption technology, all the biogas produced will be upgraded, resulting in a high-purity biomethane stream that can be fed directly into the grid, and a CO2-rich stream that can be reused in chemical and biotechnological processes.
The loan to Novamont, part of the 6-billion-euro circular economy fund envisaged by Intesa Sanpaolo’s 2018-2021 Business Plan, was structured by the IMI Corporate and Investment Banking Division, headed by Mauro Micillo, with the support of the Circular Economy Desk of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, a company dedicated to innovating and spreading the circular economy, led by Maurizio Montagnese and headed by Guido de Vecchi.
Intesa Sanpaolo is one of the most sustainable banks in the world, featuring in the leading sustainability indices. This background and the strong drive towards innovation form the basis of a commitment to the circular economy, an economic model aimed at decoupling development from the exploitation of finite natural resources, as well as redesigning the industrial system. Intesa Sanpaolo is the Financial Services Strategic Partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a global leader in promoting the circular model, with which it has been collaborating since 2015.
“We are proud to have an influential partner like Intesa Sanpaolo supporting us in implementing two important developments of our circular bio-economy model, a strategic sector under European policies for decoupling development from resource use and redesigning production, consumption and disposal systems” – says Catia Bastioli, CEO of Novamont. “The project we launched 30 years ago has become a genuine showcase for Italy, feeding several high-value supply chains throughout the country using a systemic, transformative and multidisciplinary approach to redesign. The two projects at our production sites in Terni and Bottrighe represent yet another step in this direction.”
“We are proud to support Italian excellence, such as Novamont, in the realisation of two projects of international importance in the biochemical sector” – commented Mauro Micillo, Head of Intesa Sanpaolo’s IMI Corporate and Investment Banking Division. “The new biodegradable bioplastics which can be produced at the new plant in Terni and the high-quality biogas generated in Polesine are important steps forward in terms of reducing pollution and using renewable sources of energy. To support initiatives like these and the gradual transition towards the circular economy, which is key to sustainable development that does not affect the environment, in the 2018-2021 Business Plan, the Intesa Sanpaolo Group made a 6-billion-euro Circular Economy Fund available to businesses. To date, a total of 1.5 billion euro have been used to finance many initiatives in Italy and abroad.”
