450 million project for green chemistry

Green chemistry and the project to relaunch industry in north-western Sardinia are back on track. The starting point of the new course, however long and articulated and partly to be built, which comes more than ten years after the last activities, is the signing of the protocol at the beginning of March between the President of the Region, Alessandra Todde, all the institutions (Municipalities of Sassari, Porto Torres and Alghero, the Province of Sassari) and the social partners (Confindustria Centro Nord Sardegna, Sassari Provincial Industrial Consortium, Cgil, Cisl, Uil) involved in the project aimed at the 'industrial reconversion of the Porto Torres chemical plant'.

The programme's objective is 'to make the industrial area of Sassari and Porto Torres' one of the 'locations for the development of the green and circular economy on which the relaunch of the country is based'. "We have reactivated the table with the top management of Eni and asked Palazzo Chigi to put the institutional table back on its feet," says Emanuele Cani, the regional councillor for Industry. "We are starting up again because we have put a machine that had been at a standstill for years back on track. A new course that should travel along the line outlined in 2011 with the signing of the protocol that envisaged the reconversion of the historic petrochemical industrial site of Porto Torres and its conversion, also thanks to an injection of investments for 730 million euro and a recruitment package.

The shared plan aims at the production of 'bio-based polymers, additives and lubricants (bioplastics and biofillers) on an industrial scale with production of 100-120 thousand tonnes per year'. The 'new phase' envisages 'investments in quality and value equivalent to those indicated in 2011'. The project, as emphasised by the Region, aims at "responses connected to the agricultural supply chain" with "the direct involvement of the Sardinia Region, also through the Agris, Laore, and Argea agencies and the relationship with the universities of Sassari and Cagliari" with "the development of the Research Centre in Porto Torres". "Today, there are only two plants in operation," the councillor's office further clarifies, "P01 for the production of organic monomers from sunflower oil with 40 employees and P02 for organic lubricants from pelargonic acid with 27 employees. The plan for setting up the plants and production envisages investments of 450 million with 217 direct employees and 80 in the allied industries'. For the executive, the production of biodegradable plastic 'is a central theme in environmental and industrial policies, especially in a context in which microplastics contaminate even the food we consume'. For Region President Alessandra Todde, it must be ensured 'that production is feasible, scalable and sustainable, with competitive costs. We have the opportunity to change approach, resolve the energy issue once and for all, and create a stable and certain production framework. We have received availability from Eni and Versalis for a meeting soon. We will therefore ask the government to explain its industrial strategy for this area, because we can no longer be mere spectators waiting for investments from above. This is why we will come to the table with a position shared by the Region and all the players involved, institutional, trade union and employer''. The objective, as councillor Cani adds, is to move from the current production 'to one that travels on an industrial scale, giving perspective and a future not only to the territory but to the regional production system'. The trade unions also viewed the agreement positively. For the Filctem CGIL of Sassari and the regional one, the signing 'opens an important glimmer on the prospects of green chemistry in Porto Torres with the Region's commitment to put the implementation of the protocol signed under the aegis of the national government in 2011 back at the centre of attention'.