Chemical company INEOS Olefins Belgium is the first industrial player to sign an agreement with Fluxys to participate in the feasibility study for the development of an open access hydrogen network in the port of Antwerp, said the company.
The cooperation follows the market consultation initiated by Fluxys last year to match supply and demand for hydrogen in the Belgian industrial clusters. The European Commission considers hydrogen essential for becoming carbon-neutral. When hydrogen is used as a fuel, it is carbon-free and essentially only water vapour is emitted. It is also an important raw material for the chemical industry.
Project ONE, the investment project for the construction of an ethane cracker on the right bank in the port of Antwerp, could play a significant role in the dimensioning of the hydrogen network in Antwerp. Depending on the future transition to net zero emissions and the scenario chosen, the plant has the potential to take around 100 000 tonnes of hydrogen off the grid.
Ralf Gesthuisen, Technology Manager of Project ONE: "We have identified several technological paths for Project ONE that would allow us to further reduce our emissions and achieve the transition to climate neutrality. One of them is to use more hydrogen as a fuel for our cracker's furnaces and steam boilers. From day 1 of the start-up of our plant, we have been able to meet 60% of the heat demand with the high volumes of hydrogen from the cracking process. If we gain access to more low-carbon hydrogen in the future, we can increase this to 100% and bring the emissions of Project ONE to net zero. Our participation in Fluxys' feasibility study brings us one step closer to making this a reality."
Raphael De Winter, Director Business Development & Innovation at Fluxys: "With Fluxys we are fully committed to helping develop a well-functioning market for hydrogen quickly. This requires an open access grid to which everyone can connect on an equal footing so that supply and demand can find each other smoothly. We are working on infrastructure proposals in the various industrial clusters in Belgium, providing connections between the clusters and to neighbouring countries, and working on import possibilities. In Antwerp, the interest shown by INEOS Olefins Belgium is an important step in the development of the infrastructure needed by industry. The train is leaving now: with the interest of all the companies combined, we will complete the studies for the grid in Antwerp early 2023 and conclude contracts in the first half of 2023 to be able to build."
As per MRC, INEOS is to develop a dedicated acetonitrile unit at its Cologne, Germany site to capitalise on anticipated pharmaceuticals sector demand for the material. The company is to develop a 15,000 tonne/year production facility at the site to enhance supplies for its European customer base, on the back of anticipated demand from the pharmaceutical, agrochemical and bioscience sectors.
We remind that in April 2021, INEOS Styrolution, Recycling Technologies and Trinseo announced that they had reached a significant milestone in their plans to build commercial polystyrene (PS) recycling plants in Europe. Recycling Technologies has been selected as the technology partner.
INEOS Styrolution is the leading global styrenics supplier, with a focus on styrene monomer, polystyrene, ABS Standard and styrenic specialties. With world-class production facilities and more than 90 years of experience, INEOS Styrolution helps its customers succeed by offering solutions, designed to give them a competitive edge in their markets. At the same time, these innovative and sustainable best-in-class solutions help make the circular economy for styrenics a reality. The company provides styrenic applications for many everyday products across a broad range of industries, including automotive, electronics, household, construction, healthcare, packaging and toys/sports/leisure. In 2020, sales were at 4 billion euros. INEOS Styrolution employs approximately 3,600 people and operates 20 production sites in ten countries.
mrchub.com