Petrochemical giant Ineos has announced the next step in plans to build a hydrogen manufacturing plant at Grangemouth.
The company plans to invest in a “world-scale, low-carbon, hydrogen plant”, adding that this will be at the “cornerstone” of plans to make the facility more environmentally friendly.
Ineos is inviting engineering contractors to tender for the next stage of the design of the project, and has made clear it wants the carbon dioxide produced from the new plant to be put into carbon capture at the proposed Scottish Cluster Acorn CO2 scheme in Aberdeenshire.
Ineos Grangemouth chairman Andrew Gardner said: “The construction of a world-scale, low carbon, hydrogen plant is an exciting development at Grangemouth and one that will deliver on our commitment to achieve net zero by 2045.
“It builds on the significant carbon dioxide reductions we’ve already made at Grangemouth since we acquired the site in 2005.
“We are determined to reduce our own emissions to net zero, create products that will help others reduce their emissions and play a leading role in a clean hydrogen revolution.”
In September last year, Ineos announced £1bn of investment at Grangemouth, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2045 - building on a 37% reduction in net CO2 emissions already delivered since acquiring the site in 2005.
The company has already committed more than £500m on projects which are currently being implemented, including a New Energy Plant, which is due for completion in late 2023 and will supply energy to all site operations.
The latest plans should deliver a reduction in excess of 60% in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 through a series of investments, partnerships and 'innovative engineering'.
This involves a move to the production and use of hydrogen by all businesses at the Grangemouth site, accompanied by carbon capture and storage of at least one million tonnes per annum of CO2 by 2030.
Stuart Collings, chief executive Ineos O&P UK, said the company was “progressing at pace with our commitment to deliver our net zero plans”.
He stated the project would “see the displacement of hydrocarbon fuels used at Grangemouth, like natural gas, with clean, low carbon hydrogen to power our processes and manufacture vital materials used across a wide range of sectors”.
Collings added: “To achieve this, we are inviting bids from the best engineering companies to design both a state of the art, carbon-capture-enabled, hydrogen production plant and an extensive suite of related infrastructure projects.
“The carbon dioxide from this project will be routed to the Scottish Cluster’s Acorn carbon dioxide transport and storage project, resulting in reductions of more than one million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.”
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