Italgas for the transition

We are a leader in gas distribution in Italy and Greece. Thanks to our infrastructures, we play a leading role in the energy transition path towards the decarbonisation of the economy and consumption, in line with the climate targets set by the European Union.

In  fact, our 2023-2029 Business Plan sets out an important investment program, totaling €7.8 billion, mainly dedicated to the digital transformation of Italian assets and to extending the networks in Greece, strengthening our presence in the water sector and becoming a key player in energy efficiency and information technology.

The digital transformation of networks is an essential prerequisite to progress in the decarbonisation of the gas sector and promote the development of renewable gases. We are working to create a smart, digital and flexible network, ready to accommodate and manage biomethane, and longer-term hydrogen and synthetic methane in order to improve the flexibility and resilience of the entire energy system. Soon Italgas will be the first gas utility in the world with a fully digitized network and will have the most advanced technologies in the sector.

But that’s not all. In a context of ‘Network Tech Company’ we also put our distinctive skills at the service of the water sector, in order to develop our idea of a smart, efficient and intelligent network that ensures adequate levels of service quality to the communities served.

Our strategic plan, strongly integrated with the Sustainable Value Creation Plan positions us among the main industrial companies in Italy and in Europe able to put project, investment and value creation capacities at the service of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Gas is still central as an energy carrier.  It is necessary in the transition phase, because it allows to ensure the stability of the energy system, while renewable sources, progressively introduced into the electricity grid, are not programmable. The greater the quote of renewables included in the electricity system, the greater the need for flexibility and energy storage. In this context, gas networks, by capillarity and extension, play a strategic role in decarbonisation. Infact:

• in the short term, will support the progressive exit from coal, lignite and oil
• in the medium to long term, they will allow the gradual replacement of fossil gas with renewable gases (biomethane, green hydrogen and synthetic methane).

Gas in the energy transition

The strategic choices made in recent years by the Group have anticipated the approach of national and EU institutions towards decarbonisation and the containment of climate-changing gas emissions.

Gas infrastructures, thanks to their low carbon footprint, the extension and capillarity on the territory and the flexibility they are able to guarantee to the system, will play a key role in decarbonisation, supporting in the short term the phase-out from coal, lignite and oil and, in the medium to long term, the progressive replacement of fossil gas with renewable gases (biomethane, green hydrogen and synthetic methane).

The integration between the Strategic Plan and the Sustainable Value Creation Plan reflects the commitment towards the improvement of all aspects related to sustainability, from the fight against climate change, to the generation of value for stakeholders, including quoteholders, to local communities.

In the context of promoting the energy transition and collaboration between companies and institutions, in 2018 we were among the founding members of GD4S (Gas Distributors for Sustainability), the European association of major gas distribution companies:

• Distrigaz Sud Retele in Romania
• Enaon in Grecia
• Floene in Portogallo
• Gas Networks Ireland in Irlanda
• GRDF in Francia
• Nedgia in Spagna
• Enexis Groep, Alliander e Stedin Groep in Olanda

In addition to being the industry leaders in their respective countries, GD4S represents a total of around 35 million end consumers, corresponding to 35% of the EU gas market, and operates more than 480,000 kilometres of network.