INEOS invests £30m to slash emissions at Saltend
DECARBONISING: INEOS Acetyls’ Saltend plant
By Rick Lyon, Co-Editor
Chemicals giant INEOS Acetyls has completed a £30 million investment at its Saltend manufacturing site, converting the facility to run on clean-burning hydrogen instead of natural gas.
The investment at the plant, on the outskirts of Hull, has resulted in a 75 per cent reduction in carbon emissions – the equivalent of taking around 160,000 petrol cars off the road – and is a huge step towards the company’s net zero commitment, well ahead of its 2050 target.
The investment is part of INEOS Acetyls’ wider strategy to decarbonise its operations across the UK and Europe.
INEOS Acetyls is the only industrial scale manufacturer of acetic acid, acetic anhydride and ethyl acetate in Europe.
These products are essential chemicals used in everyday life, from medicines to clean water, and the Saltend-based site now operates with dramatically lower emissions thanks to the switch to hydrogen.
David Brooks, CEO of INEOS Acetyls, said: “We’ve put £30 million into Hull to do the right thing – cut emissions, clean up the site and futureproof our operations.
“We’ve slashed CO₂ by 75 per cent. That’s not a plan, that’s a result.
‘DOING THE RIGHT THING’: David Brooks
“Like most chemical businesses in the UK, we are working hard to compete in global markets while facing some of the highest energy and carbon costs in the world.
“This investment is another step in our plans to supply the UK and European markets with highly reliable and low carbon products.”
The investment will deliver a transformational step change improvement in the site’s product carbon footprint, which is already world-leading.
The hydrogen used at the site is produced as a co-product from existing manufacturing processes, making it a smart, efficient use of resources already on hand.
It is a model INEOS Acetyls believes can be replicated across the industry.
The Saltend upgrade is one of several major decarbonisation projects underway across INEOS Acetyls sites, including Grangemouth and Köln, as the company pushes hard to meet – and beat – its climate targets.
“We’re not waiting for 2050,” Mr Brooks added. “We’re doing it now.”
INEOS Acetyls directly employs more than 300 people at Saltend, supporting hundreds more through its supply chain.