Ineos to invest €10 million in Antwerp hydrogen boiler

The British chemical company Ineos wants to invest 10 million euros in a hydrogen boiler. The boiler will be located at Ineos’ subsidiary Inovyn in the port of Antwerp and will produce steam using its own surplus of hydrogen. This way, the company can avoid losing energy.

To make the Antwerp chemical cluster more sustainable, the company is increasingly looking to use residual products in one process as a raw material or energy source in another process, even at another company.

Surplus of hydrogen

Inovyn is one of Europe’s largest vinyl producers, with an annual turnover of 4,5 billion euros. The company produces hydrogen through an electrolysis process of water and salt. Much of the released hydrogen is supplied to gas specialist Air Liquide, which operates a hydrogen network between industrial customers. Bayer also takes a small part in producing steam.

Unfortunately, until now, the company released about a third of its hydrogen gas into the atmosphere due to a lack of buyers. However, the British chemical group will soon be using the gas itself. By burning the surplus of hydrogen, the company can produce steam – instead of buying it from one of its neighbors – and meet 65% of its needs.

The hydrogen demand is expected to rise sharply in the coming years. Particularly in industry, hydrogen can serve as a CO₂-free alternative to fossil raw materials. The environmental permit for the project is expected soon, and the project’s start-up is scheduled for the end of 2024. The Inovyn site in Antwerp employs 150 people.