According to Ispra data, approximately 600,000 tonnes of hydrocarbon spills pour into the Mediterranean Sea every year. Setting aside catastrophic incidents, every day there are small leaks linked to certain maritime operations that contribute to this figure. The problem is that even a single litre of oil can contaminate millions of litres of water.

To tackle this problem, Hyundai Italia has developed the Mission to Blue project which, following its stop in Milan, has now arrived in Livorno, within the Santuario Pelagos — the largest international marine protected area dedicated to the conservation of cetaceans in the Mediterranean. A stretch of sea that is home to fin whales, sperm whales, striped dolphins and numerous other species, and which represents one of the most precious biodiversity hotspots in our sea.

A kit for rapid response to spills

The project involves supplying Marina Livorno D-Marin with a kit consisting of ten large absorbent sponges designed to respond rapidly in the event of accidental spills of oils and hydrocarbons in harbour waters. The aim is to limit potential environmental impacts before pollutants can disperse into the marine environment.

The sponges use FoamFlex technology, an Italian patent developed by the clean-tech company T1 Solutions. The material is capable of selectively absorbing oils and hydrocarbons up to thirty times its own weight without retaining water. Once used, it can be wrung out to recover the collected oils and reused up to 200 times, allowing the hydrocarbons to be fed into the used oil recycling chain.

Overall, just one kilogram of FoamFlex can absorb up to 6,000 kilograms of hydrocarbons over its lifecycle. The technology is also recognised by the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security for marine remediation operations, as a product that is chemically and biologically inert — meaning it does not release contaminated materials into the water.

The Water Defenders Alliance grows across the territory

The initiative was carried out in collaboration with the Water Defenders Alliance, the project coordinated by LifeGate and created to connect businesses, public bodies, researchers and citizens in the protection of aquatic ecosystems.

"Thanks to our collaboration with Hyundai, we are bringing an innovative and concrete solution to Livorno as well, contributing to the protection of an ecosystem of extraordinary value, part of the Santuario Pelagos." says Lajal Andreoletti, Head of Impact Projects at LifeGate. "This is the approach of the Water Defenders Alliance: promoting concrete, measurable and replicable actions capable of generating a positive impact on local communities."

A shared commitment between businesses and the local community

For Hyundai, Mission to Blue is part of the Creating Shared Value sustainability strategy, inspired by the company's vision Progress for Humanity, which aims to develop initiatives capable of generating concrete benefits for the environment and communities.

"With Mission to Blue we want to make our contribution to the protection of a fundamental resource like water through an initiative that has a positive and measurable impact on the territory," said Giulio Marc D'Alberton, Head of PR and Events at Hyundai Italia. "After the first project carried out in Milan, we are proud to bring this journey to Livorno as well, a city deeply connected to the sea and its biodiversity."

Protecting the Mediterranean also means addressing the thousands of small pollution incidents that rarely attract media attention, but which over time undermine the health of marine ecosystems. In a symbolic place like the Santuario Pelagos, where biodiversity and human activities coexist every day, prevention tools such as those made available by Mission to Blue demonstrate how protecting the sea can begin with concrete, measurable and replicable actions.