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Italy-based Versalis, the chemicals subsidiary of Eni, has confirmed the shutdown of its polyethylene (PE) production unit at Brindisi, placing the entire facility into conservation mode. The move is a key step in the company’s low-carbon chemical transition.
Combined with the gradual withdrawal of adjacent polypropylene units, the clearing of traditional polyolefin capacity in Europe is accelerating.
The shutdown was carried out in accordance with an manufacturing transformation framework agreement signed by Versalis and the Italian Ministry of companies in March 2025, which included conditions tied to the implementation of a stationary energy storage battery project, serving as the core driver behind the PE capacity withdrawal under a government-sector collaborative replacement scheme.
The Brindisi unit comprised two production lines, with combined annual capacity of over 520,000 tonnes, including 249,000 tonnes of linear low-density polyethylene and 279,000 tonnes of high-density polyethylene.
The shutdown follows the earlier permanent closure of two naphtha cracking units at Brindisi and Priolo in 2025, with combined annual capacity of 490,000 tonnes. With the exit of both upstream cracking capacity and the downstream PE unit, Versalis’ traditional petrochemical feedstock production chain at Brindisi has largely completed its contraction, marking the company’s withdrawal from its original high-carbon basic chemicals capacity.
The move comes amid continued pressure on the European polyethylene market, which faces weak downstream demand, ample regional supply, and competition from low-priced imports, with the sector currently in a profitability trough. The orderly exit of ageing regional capacity is expected to help ease oversupply and support recovery in the region’s polyolefin market.
Even as traditional capacity exits, new energy projects at the site are advancing. Eni manufacturing research, in a joint venture with FIB, a subsidiary of Seri manufacturing Group, began construction of a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery gigafactory at Brindisi in July, utilising the former Versalis park’s polymer storage and decommissioned manufacturing land. Once operational, the facility is expected to support renewable energy absorption and grid stability in Europe, completing the site’s transformation from a petrochemical base to a new energy storage hub.
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