Ineos: Sir Jim Ratcliffe invests two billion euros in green hydrogen

The Monaco resident and owner of OGC Nice wants to develop clean energy to decarbonise the industrial sector.

Ineos goes green. The British petrochemical group plans to invest more than two billion euros in the production of carbon-free green hydrogen in Europe. The announcement was made on Monday, 25 October: the first factories should become operational within the next ten years in Norway, Germany and Belgium. Investments in France and the UK are reportedly also being considered.

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Good for the environment…

The primary advantage of this new type of energy is, of course, protection of the environment. These factories could reduce the carbon footprint by 22,000 to 120,000 tonnes per year. Nevertheless, this is still below the millions of tonnes of CO2 generated by the petrochemical industry.

They hydrogen is produced from water by hydrolysis, using electricity from renewable sources (sun or wind), and can be used for transport or as town gas, hence the term ‘green hydrogen’.

It should be possible to measure initial results soon: the Norwegian project is said to be well under way already, and is expected to be completed between 2023 and 2024. Germany, should follow on a year later. Belgium does not yet have a definite date, however Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s group has set a target of reaching net zero there by 2050.

… and for the economy!

Of course, apart from the environmental benefits that a large-scale project of this nature can provide, there could also be an economic impact.

While the group has not yet provided details on the exact number of positions, new jobs should be created when the European factories open.

The green hydrogen industry could prove to be profitable, as the Ineos group is expected to invest in a new fund, soon to be listed on the London Stock Exchange: HydrogenOne Capital Growth.

This should further strengthen the group, which is now the largest electrolysis operator in Europe thanks to its Inovyn business.