INEOS in Antwerp has pledged to beat targets set by the EU for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Hans Casier, CEO of INEOS Phenol & Nitriles, said concentrating on reducing emissions at source rather than just capturing and storing them will be key. “All our sites in Antwerp now have a clear, achievable roadmap,” he said.
The plan will mean INEOS will reach net zero emissions across its business in the Port of Antwerp by 2050 at the latest.
But it also takes into account the EU’s ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to at least 55% below 1990 levels by 2030.
A new €5 billion cracker and propane dehydrogenation complex will be built in Antwerp - and supplied with energy from ENGIE’s wind farm in the North Sea.
The new complex will enable a step change reduction in emissions associated with the manufacture of olefins, the key chemical needed by the car, construction, transport and medical industries.
In addition to switching to green electricity, INEOS also plans to extend its collaboration in existing industrial waste heat and steam networks in the region and increase the use of hydrogen in its chemical processes and power plants.
The company is also involved in an ambitious plan at Lillo to mix captured carbon dioxide with green hydrogen to produce methanol, a chemical widely used in everything from clothing to fuel.
The use of more recycled, or bio-attributed, raw materials, alongside gas and oil, is also being explored.
"All these activities will be underpinned by an ongoing drive to improve the energy and resource efficiency of our processes,” said Hans.
Although the focus will be on avoiding the production of CO2 , rather than waiting to collect and store it later, storage should still be an option for INEOS in the future.
As such, INEOS can rely on experience at its existing carbon capture plants in Zwijndrecht, Tavaux, Lavera and Köln.
Currently about 100,000 tonnes of CO2, which is produced as by-product of the ethylene oxide process at Zwijndrecht, is captured, purified, liquefied, sold and reused.
INEOS draws up clear roadmap
The roadmap has been drawn up to show INEOS the path to creating a climate neutral world.
INEOS’ plants in the Port of Antwerp may be the first to set out on that journey. But they won’t be
the last.
“The roadmap will be rolled out and every business in INEOS will be able to look at it and see where they can implement changes to lower their carbon emissions,” said Greet Van Eetvelde, INEOS’ global head of energy and innovation policy.
She has been working on the comprehensive roadmap with Matthias Schnellmann, Carbon Business Developer, for the past year.
Together with INEOS’ sites in Antwerp, they have collected environmental data to set a baseline for a clear and robust plan to reduce emissions.
The roadmap shows how INEOS can reduce its emissions by either switching fuels, using renewable raw materials, increasing the energy and resource efficiency of its plants, or capturing, using or storing the carbon.
“Most of our sites are already energy efficient, so focusing on that alone will not bring us any significant gains,” said Matthias.
“But switching fuels or using renewable raw materials will. We think it is better to reduce our emissions rather than capture and store them.”
He said some sites produced hydrogen as a by-product which could be used by another site to reduce their carbon footprint.
“Each site has different needs,” he said. “The solution is not going to be the same for everyone.
But the roadmap will help them to identify areas where they can improve their processes to make a difference.”
It is hoped the roadmap will create a climate of positive competitiveness across INEOS’ businesses and sites throughout the world.