INEOS Shutting Down Scottish Ethanol Plant

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--U.K. chemical giant INEOS Limited (London, England) has announced plans to stop ethanol production at the U.K.'s largest refining complex at Grangemouth in Scotland.

The company blamed loss-making for the decision and said that it aims to end ethanol production in the first quarter of 2025. More than 40 people work at the plant and will be repurposed within Grangemouth. The plant has an estimated ethanol production capacity of 340,000 tonnes per year (t/yr). The company claimed the decision came after a "lengthy review and is the result of a reduction in demand for ethanol in Europe combined with increasing pressure from imports of ethanol from other regions. This has resulted in the ethanol business at Grangemouth running at a loss for several years."

INEOS O&P U.K. Chief Executive Officer Stuart Collings said, "It is never easy to close any plant and we are making this proposal only after a very thorough analysis. Beginning consultation now with our colleagues, means that we can begin to plan for redeployment and phase the programme for closure in a structured manner. All ethanol-based employees will be offered an alternative role within our business. Moreover, customers will be offered the supply of ethanol from INEOS' other plant in Herne, Germany."

It is the latest in a series of blows for Grangemouth. At the end of last year, Petroineos-- a joint venture between Chinese state oil firm PetroChina and INEOS--announced that it was preparing to shut down the Grangemouth oil refinery in order to convert it into a fuel-import terminal. The 150,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) refinery is Scotland's only oil refinery and one of six in Britain. It will continue to operate until Spring 2025. In a statement, the company said: "Grangemouth is home to the only fuels refinery in Scotland, which has been a vital piece of national infrastructure for the past century but faces significant challenges due to global market pressures and the energy transition. This investment will provide greater operational flexibility and safeguard the site as a national fuel hub for decades to come. The preparatory work will make it possible to import petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and kerosene into Scotland from vessels arriving via the Firth of Forth."

Petroineos has a number of emissions-reduction projects underway at the site, including a planned hydrogen plant, as part of its Net Zero Grangemouth initiative. Industrial Info is tracking six active projects worth US$280 million in investment. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports.

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