The move is also the next phase in the group’s road map to deliver savings in emissions of more than 60% across Grangemouth by 2030 through a series of investments, partnerships and innovative engineering.

“When Ineos bought the site in 2005 it was emitting around 5 million t of CO₂ per year. We’ve already reduced that to 3 million t today,” said Andrew Gardner, Ineos Grangemouth chairman.

The Ineos road map involves a move to the production and use of hydrogen by all businesses at Grangemouth, accompanied by carbon capture and storage (CCS) of at least 1 million t/y of CO₂ by 2030. This will include capturing CO₂ from existing hydrogen production and the construction of a world-scale hydrogen plant, which Gardner said will reduce CO₂ emissions to below 2 million t/y.

In July, Ineos entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Acorn CCS project to develop Scotland’s first system to capture and store CO₂. Operations, which will cover the entire site, are scheduled to start in 2027.

Ineos has already committed funds of more than £500 million to projects at Grangemouth. These include a new energy plant that is due for completion in late 2023 and which will supply all of Ineos’s site operations, driving down emissions by at least 150,000 t/y of CO₂.

Other steps to drive down emissions will come from further spending in energy reduction and optimization, along with electrification of key equipment. Ineos will also shift its portfolio of polymer products to include higher levels of post-consumer recycled content.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist