Global crisis, local energy: Italgas’s investments for the Italian North-East regions

A Digital Reverse Flow plant capable of making the network's capacity to accept biomethane virtually unlimited was inaugurated today in Gazzo Veronese (VR) – a zero-mile renewable gas that is strategic for strengthening energy security, economic competitiveness and sustainability

Gazzo Veronese (VR), 19 June 2026 – In recent years, the global energy landscape has imposed a clear direction: increasing local production of renewable energy, reducing dependence on imports, and strengthening the competitiveness and resilience of energy systems. It is within this perspective that Italgas's investments are positioned, through which the company is transforming its networks – digital, widespread and flexible – to accommodate growing shares of renewable gases.

This is a path that has found one of its main areas of development in the North-East, thanks to a significant investment plan that reached 180 million euros in 2025 and is set to exceed 200 million euros this year. This commitment, in addition to further strengthening energy security and service efficiency and supporting the decarbonisation of consumption, is also contributing to employment growth in the area.

It is within this context that the inauguration of the Digital Reverse Flow plant in Gazzo Veronese takes place. This is a cutting-edge technology that makes the local network's capacity to accept biomethane virtually unlimited – a strategic renewable gas for addressing the three dimensions of the energy “trilemma”: security of supply, affordability for households and businesses, and environmental sustainability.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by the Mayor of Gazzo Veronese, Stefano Negrini, the Chief Executive Officer of Italgas Reti, Pier Lorenzo Dell'Orco, and the Chief People, Innovation & Transformation Officer of Italgas, Peter Durante.

“The development of biomethane is a strategic direction for the country,” commented Pier Lorenzo Dell'Orco, CEO of Italgas Reti. “More green gas, produced locally, means greater energy security, more competitiveness for the economic system and, at the same time, lower CO2 emissions. The Gazzo Veronese plant moves in exactly this direction: strengthening the network's capacity to accommodate incremental shares of biomethane and making it available not only locally but to the entire territory. In this way, through our networks, we also help to further enhance the agricultural and industrial excellence of this area, which becomes an energy resource. It is a circular economy model that addresses the management of organic waste and the transition towards renewable sources”. 

Reverse flow technology acts on the network by enhancing its capacity to accept growing shares of biomethane. When local production exceeds demand, the plant compresses the excess biomethane and sends it to the regional and national transmission network, making it available wherever there is demand to be met.

The new infrastructure, which required an investment of approximately 2 million euros, also serves as a hub, as it receives biomethane from four different production plants which, once fully operational, will feed into the network a combined total of up to 12 million cubic metres of gas per year (produced mainly from agricultural biomass, livestock effluents and agri-food by-products). This is a volume capable of meeting the average annual consumption of around 13,000 households.

Like the rest of the Italgas network, the Veronese plant will also be controlled through DANA (Digital Advanced Network Automation), the company's proprietary network automation and remote-control system, which enables remote management, real-time monitoring and the automatic operation of facilities.

Gazzo Veronese is not the only network integrated with Digital Reverse Flow technology: the Italgas network also includes plants in Avetrana (TA) and Terranova dei Passerini (LO), with two further plants currently being built in Poggio Rusco (MN) and Ostellato (FE).

In recent years, the Italgas Group has strengthened its presence in the North-East of the country by expanding the scope of its concessions, investing in new offices and creating stable employment. The Group currently has around 800 employees; between 2025 and the first half of this year, it has already brought on board 75 new professionals and aims to hire a further 30 by December, with particular interest in the roles of Plant and Distribution Operator and Plant and Distribution Technician.

 “Behind every investment in infrastructure development, there are people, skills and professional expertise that make it possible and concrete,” stated Peter Durante, Chief People, Innovation & Transformation Officer of Italgas. “A plan such as the one Italgas is carrying out in the North-East regions cannot be separated from a significant commitment by the Group on the employment front. We want to continue attracting talent, developing qualified professionals and offering growth paths consistent with the evolution of our sector. Managing networks that are increasingly digital, intelligent and sustainable requires new skills, rooted in the territories in which we operate. Our people are acquiring increasingly solid and growing technical expertise in gas distribution, which is increasingly based on digital technologies and skills – areas in which our Group is recognised as an international centre of excellence, including in training. It is also through this kind of commitment that Italgas contributes to the growth of communities and confirms its role as a company strongly connected to the development of the territory.”