The plant, expected to be operational by 2030, will further reduce emissions from the site by 1Mtpa as the site targets net zero by 2045.

Colin Pritchard, Sustainability Director at INEOS Grangemouth, said, “The construction of our hydrogen plant is a vital component to delivering our net zero road map at Grangemouth and an enabler for others to reduce their footprints too. Alongside our support and active involvement in the Scottish Cluster (Carbon Capture and Storage) and the Forth Green Freeport, INEOS is at the forefront of actions and investments to reduce carbon emissions in Central Scotland.”

INEOS has already committed over £500m on active projects across the site including investment in a New Energy Plant which is due to commission in late 2023.

This power plant will employ latest technology to supply energy to all site operations and will drive down emissions by at least 150,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year. The new power plant will then be converted to run on hydrogen which will further reduce CO2 emissions.

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, it is actively involved in the Forth Green Freeport bid which, if successful, will further support the early development of its hydrogen production facility. It aims to achieve greater than 60% carbon reduction by 2030.

Michael Matheson, Net Zero & Energy Secretary, said Scotland has the resources, the people and the ambition to become a leader in hydrogen production – for both domestic use and European exports.

He said, “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.

“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 develop a hydrogen production hub at Grangemouth.

He said, “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.”

David Cole, Market Director – Net Zero Energy, Atkins SNC Lavalin, said, “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.”

UN-Habitat and Sweden have announced four winning teams of the Climate Smart Cities Challenge that will demonstrate cleantech solutions in four cities.

Solutions proposed by teams of innovators will tackle specific challenges in Bogotá, Bristol, Curitiba and Makindye Ssabagabo, such as freight mobility and affordable housing.

Zoe Metcalfe, Director at Atkins, said Bristol was well-placed to benefit from winning the global competition given its proactive approach to achieving net zero targets.

She said: “The Bristol team is named Thriving Places as that is our core aim. We will create and sustain thriving places which will contribute to a holistically healthy city for people and nature, and embed climate resilience.”

SNC-Lavalin recently announced a change in management to its Nuclear and Power business in Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA region), with Chris Ball stepping down as Managing Director, and succeeded by Christophe Junillon, formerly the Group’s Director of Nuclear New Build in the region.