Atkins appointed to design £500M hydrogen plant in Scotland

Atkins has signed a key contract to deliver the design for INEOS’ £500M ‘world-scale’ low carbon hydrogen plant at Grangemouth.The hydrogen plant is expected to be operational by 2030 and will further reduce emissions from the site by 1M.t per year.INEOS Grangemouth sustainability director Colin Pritchard said: “Atkins is a world-renowned engineering company with the skilled and experienced people to deliver this next phase in our ambitions to develop a hydrogen production hub at Grangemouth.“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 acquired the site in 2005. As part of the Scottish Cluster carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure, the CO2 from the hydrogen plant will be sent directly offshore to be permanently stored in rock formations deep below the North Sea.Pritchard continued: “In addition to the Scottish Cluster we are actively involved in the Forth Green Freeport bid, which if successful, will further support the early development of our hydrogen production facility and our ambitions to achieve greater than 60% carbon reduction by 2030 on the road to our net zero commitment by 2045.”Net zero & energy secretary for the Scottish Government Michael Matheson said: “Scotland has the resources, the people and the ambition to become a world leader in hydrogen production – for both domestic use and for export to Europe.“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, and I welcome this latest step in INEOS’ road map to cut emissions, and their continued investment into the sustainability of our largest manufacturing site.“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.”INEOS FPS transports crude oil and gas liquids from offshore and onshore entry points, processes the raw gas or fractionated gas products at Grangemouth.Atkins market director for net zero energy David Cole added: “We are delighted to have been selected to deliver the design phase of INEOS’ low carbon hydrogen plant.“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.”