Ineos: Atkins awarded low-carbon hydrogen plant design contract for Grangemouth site

Expected to be operational by 2030, the hydrogen plant will further reduce emissions from the site by one million tonnes per year as the site targets net zero by 2045.

Atkins has been given the contract to design the world scale plant, which is the latest significant investment by Ineos in Grangemouth.

Colin Pritchard, Ineos’ sustainability director at Grangemouth, said: “Atkins is a world-renowned engineering company with the skilled and experienced people to deliver this next phase in our ambitions to develop a hydrogen production hub. The construction of our hydrogen plant is a vital component of our sustainability road map, underpinning plans for net zero manufacturing operations at Grangemouth.

"We will displace hydrocarbon-based fuels in our processes with clean low-carbon hydrogen and establish a hydrogen hub to enable others to benefit and reduce their emissions too.

"Alongside our support and active involvement in the Forth Green Freeport bid and the Scottish Cluster (carbon capture and storage) project, Ineos is at the forefront of actions and investments to reduce emissions in Central Scotland.”

The company said access to the Scottish Cluster CCS was fundamental to the project and would see CO2 from the hydrogen plant sent directly offshore to be permanently and safely stored in rock formations deep below the North Sea.

In addition to the Scottish Cluster, the Forth Green Freeport bid, which if successful, will further support the early development of the hydrogen production facility and Ineos’ ambitions to achieve greater than 60 per cent carbon reduction by 2030 on the road to its net zero commitment by 2045.

Net Zero & Energy Secretary Michael Matheson said: “Scotland has the resources, the people and the ambition to become a world leader in hydrogen production – for both domestic use and for export to Europe. It will play an increasingly important role in supporting our just transition to a net zero economy and deliver good, green jobs for our highly skilled workforces.

“Low-carbon hydrogen meanwhile offers a route for our critical industrial sector to decarbonise, and I welcome this latest step in INEOS’ road map to cut emissions, and their continued investment into the sustainability of our largest manufacturing site.

"The plan clearly demonstrates how important carbon capture technology will be to the sector’s energy transformation over the coming decades and the Scottish Government will continue to press the UK Government to accelerate the Scottish Cluster’s place in its cluster sequencing process, while standing ready with our own support to help deliver this vital technology.”