INEOS signs 10-year renewable electricity deal with Engie for Belgium sites

LONDON (ICIS)–INEOS will power some of its sites in Belgium with wind power-generated electricity supplied by Engie, starting 1 January 2021, the European chemicals major said on Tuesday.

Financial details were not disclosed.

The 10-year, 84 MW (megawatt) agreement will reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions produced by INEOS by 1.15m tonnes, it said.

The electricity will be generated at France-headquartered energy major Engie’s offshore wind farm in the North Sea, 23 km from the coast of Zeebrugge.

INEOS plans to use the electricity at various production sites in Belgium.

At a later stage, it will also be used to power INEOS’s Project ONE complex in Antwerp, which was announced in 2018 and is currently under construction.

This project will include an ethane cracker and a propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit to produce ethylene and propylene, with capital expenditure (capex) expected at €2.7bn.

“Our PDH unit has been designed with a maximum level of electrification, which makes it possible to virtually eliminate indirect emissions by using only green electricity,” said Project ONE’s CEO John McNally.

“In the coming months, we will continue to look at the options for further expanding the use of renewable energy.”