INEOS plans £1bn capex at Grangemouth for CCS hydrogen facility

MADRID (ICIS)–INEOS plans £1bn in capital expenditure (capex) at its Grangemouth facilities in the UK to add a carbon capture and storage (CCS) enabled hydrogen facility which could reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the site by 1m tonnes by 2030.

The European energy and petrochemicals major added it will aim to include more post-consumer recycled content in its polymers portfolio.

INEOS said the investments would contribute to the Grangemouth site becoming a net zero emissions facility by 2045, in line with Scotland’s government target.

The site has already reduced emissions by 37% since INEOS took it over in 2005, it said, from 5m tonnes/year of CO2 emissions then to 3m tonnes/year currently.

INEOS’ Road Map to become a greener producer aims to achieve around a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030.

It would involve a move to the production and use of hydrogen by all businesses at the Grangemouth site, accompanied by CCS technologies, which would capture and store “at least” 1m tonnes/year of CO2 by 2030.

“This will include capturing CO2 from existing hydrogen production and the construction of a world-scale carbon capture enabled hydrogen production plant,” said the company.

“Additional contributions to driving down emissions will come from further investments in energy reduction and optimisation, along with electrification of key equipment.”

INEOS had already announced capex of around £500m on projects to reduce its carbon footprint, including a so-called New Energy Plant due for completion by the end of 2023 to supply green energy to the large-scale petrochemicals site.

The new plant is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 150,000 tonnes/year, the company said.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
On Wednesday, the Scottish government’s secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport welcomed the investments and said it would keep lobbying the UK government to include the hydrogen Scottish Cluster, of which INEOS is a partner in its financing round for CCS clusters, via the country’s cluster sequencing process.

“I welcome this significant investment, which demonstrates INEOS’ support for Scotland’s journey to becoming a net-zero economy by 2045. This will not only drive forward innovation and diversification to tackle emissions at Grangemouth, but will also support the decarbonisation of other sectors, sites and regions across Scotland,” said Michael Matheson.

In its statement, INEOS said on Wednesday it expected to be able to “count on both the Scottish and UK governments’ support” to help the company in its transition towards a net zero production.

In a written response to ICIS, a spokesperson for the producer did not clarify what kind of support the company would be expecting.

It said, however, that the producer “is committed to playing its part” in reducing Scotland’s emissions and added that with such a large investment it would be crucial to have the “the right infrastructure support” from the authorities.

“We are confident that both Scottish and UK governments understand that there needs to be an appropriate policy framework in place with government actions supporting private sector investment in the ‘Just Transition’,” said the spokesperson.

“As INEOS, we are not in a position to second guess government policies, nor do we have certainty about what supporting policies and legislative framework will emerge at an international level as a result of COP26 [the Conference of the Parties climate change summit to be held in Glasgow in October-November].”

Front page picture: INEOS’ Grangemouth facilities 
Source: INEOS