INEOS awards contract to Atkins to design its world scale low carbon hydrogen plant at Grangemouth

INEOS is announcing a huge step forward in its drive to deliver sustainable net zero manufacturing operations with the awarding of a contract to Atkins, a member of the SNC Lavalin Group, to design a world scale low carbon hydrogen plant at its site in Grangemouth, said the company.

The new hydrogen plant, slated for operation in 2030, will see INEOS remove more than 1million tonnes of carbon emissions from its already improving performance since it acquired the site in 2005 and comes on top of other significant investments at its site in Grangemouth.

Fundamental to INEOS’ Hydrogen project will be access to the Scottish Cluster carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure. The CO2 from the hydrogen plant will be sent directly offshore to be permanently and safely stored in rock formations deep below the North Sea.

In addition to the Scottish Cluster we are actively involved in the Forth Green Freeport bid, which if successful, will further support the early development of our hydrogen production facility and our ambitions to achieve greater than 60% carbon reduction by 2030 on the road to our 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."

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 at Grangemouth. 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."

David Cole, Market Director - Net Zero Energy, Atkins SNC Lavalin, said: “We are delighted to have been selected to deliver the design phase of INEOS’ low carbon hydrogen plant. Hydrogen has the potential to play an important role in industrial decarbonisation: our team has global experience in the technology and we look forward to working with INEOS to bring this element of their net zero road map closer to realisation."

In January 2022, INEOS announced its plans to move forwards with the construction of a Low-Carbon Hydrogen Manufacturing Plant with an invitation to companies to bid for the design of the plant.

Grangemouth represents one of INEOS’ largest manufacturing sites by volume of products. It is home to three businesses: INEOS FPS, INEOS O&P UK and Petroineos.

We remind, INEOS Styrolution, the global leader in styrenics, has today announced the introduction of a comprehensive range of sustainable solutions for its specialty ABS product group Novodur. The individual grades come with a significant product carbon footprint (PCF) saving of up to -71% as compared to the respective non-ECO product reference.

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SCG Chemicals or SCGC has recently invested in new technologies and machinery at Sirplaste in Portugal, following the acquisition of a 70% stake in Sirplaste-Sociedade Industrial de Recuperados de Plastico, S.A. (Sirplaste) through SCG Chemicals Trading (Singapore) PTE in April 2022, said the company.

This investment is undertaken to expand the production capacity of recycled high-density polyethylene or High Quality Post-Consumer Recycled Resin (PCR) by 9,000 tonnes per year, or 25% of the current total production capacity. As a result, Sirplaste will have a total PCR production capacity of more than 45,000 tonnes per year by the second quarter of 2023. The goal is to address the ever-increasing market demand in Europe and Africa. This strengthens Portugal's position as a leader in PCR and fits with SCGC's corporate strategy of "Chemicals Business for Sustainability".

Tanawong Areeratchakul, Chief Executive Officer and President of SCGC, said, "SCGC has a clear business strategy for the green polymer that fulfills the market's need for sustainability. The decision to invest in new technologies and machinery at Sirplaste in Portugal at this time is to strengthen the High Quality Post-Consumer Recycled Resin or PCR business and expand the commercial potential to become more competitive in the global market."

As per MRC, Siam Cement Group (SCG) will invest on a USD22.7m project to produce biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate (BOPET) in Vietnam. AJ Plast (Vietnam) Co Ltd, a 45:55 joint venture between SCG subsidiary SCG Chemicals and Thailand-listed flexible packaging producer AJ Plast, will carry out the project, SCG said in a bourse filing on 22 August.
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Saint-Gobain has now obtained approvals from all relevant competition authorities for its acquisition of GCP Applied Technologies Inc., a major global player in construction chemicals, announced on December 6, 2021, said the comany.

The acquisition will close on September 27, 2022. GCP will delist from the New York Stock Exchange.

With approximately USD1.0bn revenues generated in 2021 by 1,800 employees working on 50 production sites in 38 countries, GCP Applied Technologies provides a global platform with established success in cement additives, concrete admixtures, infrastructure and commercial and residential building materials.

This acquisition is a major milestone in establishing Saint-Gobain’s leading position worldwide in construction chemicals and furthers the Group’s strategy as worldwide leader in light and sustainable construction.

The specialty building materials business in North America (USD250 million of sales) will be integrated into the CertainTeed business serving local customers in its Region. All other businesses, consisting of mainly concrete admixtures and cement additives (USD750 million of sales) will be combined with the Chryso business and be part of the High Performance Solutions segment.

Last December, Saint-Gobain signed an agreement to acquire US-based construction-chemicals producer GCP Applied Technologies for USD2.3bn.The price comes to USD32/share and represents a multiple of 13.2x of GCP's 2022 estimated adjusted earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), Saint-Gobain said. That 2022 estimate for adjusted EBITDA comes to USD170m.
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Saudi Basic Industries Corp.’s (SABIC) board of directors approved the resignation of Vice Chairman and CEO Yousef Al-Benyan after a royal decree was issued to appoint him as Minister of Education, according to a bourse statement, said the company.

The resignation is effective as on, Sept. 28. In a separate statement, Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh was appointed as acting CEO for six months, starting today.

Al-Fageeh holds a Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from King Saud University and an MBA from Bradford University in UK. He assumes the position of Executive Vice President, Petrochemicals at SABIC and Chairman of Al?Jubail Petrochemical Co. (Kemya), Saudi Yanbu Petrochemical Company (YANPET) and Gulf Coast Growth Ventures.

King Salman bin Abdulaziz issued three royal decrees, on Sept. 27, reshuffling the Kingdom’s Cabinet and appointing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as Prime Minister.

As per MRC, SABIC participated in the Local Content Forum in Riyadh on September 5 and 6 to promote localization, support national industries, and stimulate national workforce development through its NUSANED™ local content initiative. Organized by the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority, the Forum was attended by Khalid Al-Dabbagh, SABIC Chairman, Yousef Al-Benyan, SABIC Vice Chairman and CEO, and Faisal Al-Bahair, CEO, Nusaned Investment. In addition, a number of ministers and other dignitaries also attended and participated in panel discussions and workshops. Members of the Local Content Coordination Council, which includes a number of leading companies, were among the prominent participants.
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Borealis and ITC Packaging, a leading European manufacturer of thin wall packaging for food-contact applications, have jointly developed a series of new and more sustainable rigid packaging formats that are suitable for food contact, said the company.

The partners used resins from the and portfolios to upgrade a number of iconic food packaging formats found on European supermarket shelves, primarily in the ice cream and ready-to-eat segments. These more sustainable formats containing chemically recycled polypropylene (rPP) and renewable-based PP were launched in record time in the course of 2022. The successful launches underscore the efficiency of value chain collaboration in the spirit of , the Borealis platform created to accelerate action on plastics circularity.

Brand owners and converters are keen to find ways to reduce their carbon footprint by enhancing the sustainability of their packaging. At the same time, ensuring the safety of food-contact packaging is crucial. Grades in the Borcycle C portfolio guarantee the high purity and safety required for food-contact applications because they are gained through the chemical recycling process, which turns plastic waste which is difficult to recycle back into virgin-grade materials. Grades in the Bornewables portfolio are composed of renewably-sourced feedstocks derived from residue and vegetable waste streams.

Because both Borcycle C and Bornewables grades are composed of ISCC PLUS-certified (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification) sustainable feedstock produced in accordance with the mass balance method, using them enables manufacturers and brand owners to reduce the CO2 footprint of their packaging formats. As these grades are virgin-grade resins offering the same high purity and performance as polyolefins made using fossil fuel-based feedstocks, they offer the added bonus of not requiring grade revalidation, because they can be used as drop-in solutions.

“As packaging pioneers, ITC has always been at the forefront of innovation. Our long-term strategic partnership with Borealis has enabled us to consolidate our position as sustainability trailblazers in the European rigid packaging industry,” says Jose Luis Olmedo, ITC Packaging Managing Director. “Our ultimate aim is to maintain high food safety standards while implementing an added-value circular economy model that meets market demands. This is what strengthens our relationships to both our customers and value chain partners.”

“Working together with ITC in the spirit of EverMinds has allowed us to identify and implement the ideal technologies and material solutions for making rigid PP packaging food-contact compliant yet more circular,” says Peter Voortmans, Borealis Global Commercial Director Consumer Products. “Building on the success story with Bornewables and Borcycle C, Borealis and ITC are now exploring the use of mechanically recycled compounds from the portfolio to further reduce the carbon footprint of ITC’s non-food packaging. This is how we advance value chain collaboration to close the loop on plastics circularity and at the same time underline how we manage to re-invent essentials for sustainable living.”

We remind, Borealis and Trexel, a leading expert in foaming injection and blow moulded parts, announce that they have co-developed a new plastic bottle based on a grade from the Bornewables portfolio of polyolefins made using renewable feedstocks derived 100% from waste and residue streams.
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