INTESA SANPAOLO AND NOVAMONT: 20-MILLION-EURO CIRCULAR LOAN AGREEMENT FOR TWO INNOVATIVE PROJECTS

• The world’s first plant for generating a new monomer to produce biomaterials from renewable sources will be completed in Terni.

 

• Bottrighe (Rovigo) will be the most efficient facility in Europe for the production of chemical intermediates from renewable sources, thanks to the construction of a high-quality biogas plant.

 

• Catia Bastioli: “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.”

 

• Mauro Micillo: “To support initiatives like these and the gradual transition towards the circular economy, 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.”

 
 
Milan/Novara, 22 December 2020 – Intesa Sanpaolo and Novamont have signed a 20-million-euro loan agreement to finance two innovative circular economy projects:
 

• 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;

 

• 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/TS 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.
 
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Intesa Sanpaolo is the leading Bank in Italy and one of the soundest and most profitable banks in Europe. It offers commercial, corporate investment banking, asset management and insurance services. The Intesa Sanpaolo Group has approximately 14.6 million customers in Italy who are assisted through both digital and traditional channels. The Group’s international subsidiary banks serve 7.2 million customers across Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Intesa Sanpaolo is considered one of the most sustainable banks in the world. For the Group, creating value means being a driver for growth, for the benefit of both society and the economy. As regards the environment, the Group has set up a 6-billion-euro fund for the circular economy. Intesa Sanpaolo supports major economic inclusion and poverty reduction projects, including an impact fund of 1.2 billion euro for loans available to social groups who struggle to access credit. Intesa Sanpaolo has a high level of involvement in cultural initiatives, organised by the Bank or in collaboration with other entities in Italy and further afield. These include permanent and temporary exhibitions showcasing the Bank’s impressive artistic heritage at the Gallerie d’Italia, the Group’s museums located in Milan, Naples, Vicenza and soon Turin.
 
 
Media Relations
Intesa Sanpaolo
Corporate & Investment Banking and Governance Areas
Carlo Torresan
carlo.torresan@intesasanpaolo.com
www.intesasanpaolo.com/it/news
 
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The Novamont Group is a leader in the production of bioplastics and the development of biochemicals and bioproducts through the integration of chemistry, environment and agriculture. With over 600 employees, the Group reported turnover of around 270 million euro in 2019 and continued investment in research and development (5% of turnover and over 20% of the workforce dedicated to R&D); it holds around 1,800 patents and patent applications. Based in Novara, it has production plants in Terni, Bottrighe (Rovigo) and Patrica (Frosinone) and research laboratories in Novara, Terni and Piana di Monte Verna (Caserta). It established a 50/50 JV with Versalis (Eni) in Porto Torres (Sassari). It also operates abroad with locations in Germany, France and the United States and a representative office in Brussels (Belgium). The Group has distributors in over 40 countries on all continents.
In 2020, Novamont became a certified B Corporation, joining the global B Corp movement, which is redefining the way business is done around the world. Conscious of how much more can be done to promote a truly sustainable and inclusive economic model, it has also made its commitment binding by amending its articles of association and legally becoming a Benefit Corporation.