Ineos: New environmental licence for "Project One"

The British chemicals group Ineos has received a new environmental permit from the government of the Belgian region of Flanders for the construction of the "Project One" olefin complex in the port of Antwerp.

The company recently announced this in a press release. As reported by Belgian media with reference to information from Flemish Environment Minister Zuhal Demir, this is a provisional environmental permit with a number of conditions. According to these, the complex must be completely climate-neutral within ten years of commissioning and strict standards apply to pollutant emissions and waste water.

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Last summer, the Flemish authorities initially cancelled the environmental permits for "Project One" issued in 2021 and 2022 following objections from environmentalists. Ineos then submitted a new application with an 800-page environmental report. In the latest press release, the company has now announced the immediate resumption of construction work. Completion of the complex is now scheduled for the end of 2026.

The CEO of the project company Ineos Project One, John McNally, explained in the latest press release: "We thank Minister Demir for her decision. The pandemic and the energy crisis have shown how vulnerable Europe is in terms of industrial production chains. Strategic autonomy is therefore a central element of the European Commission's vision. 'Project One' is at the beginning of this value chain. It anchors the local processing of key feedstocks such as ethylene, contributing to the resilience and sustainability of Europe's industrial base."

Ineos plans to build a new propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant and an ethane cracker at its existing site in Lillo in the port of Antwerp, with capacities for 750,000 tonnes of propylene and 1.5 million tonnes of ethylene per year respectively. The complex will employ around 450 people. The total investment volume is expected to be around four billion euros. According to Ineos, this makes "Project One" the largest investment project in the European chemical industry for over 20 years.

More information: project-one.ineos.com, www.ineos.com

Ineos, Great Britain

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