Ineos ethane cracker receives 2m euros in ecological support from Flanders
The Flemish government is granting 2 million euros in “strategic ecological support” to the ethane cracker of chemical company Ineos in the port of Antwerp. The total cost of the ethane cracker amounts to 4 billion euros.
The decision to provide 2 million euros in ‘strategic ecological support’ was made at the end of last week in Antwerp, during a meeting between the Flemish government and German colleagues from North Rhine-Westphalia. Ineos' ethane cracker aims to achieve carbon neutrality within ten years, which should be made possible by hydrogen infrastructure in the Antwerp industrial area.
The British and Flemish governments have both provided guarantees for the cracker. The British government has pledged a guarantee of 700 million euros, while the Flemish government is offering a guarantee of 500 million euros.
The Antwerp plant will eventually produce ethylene, an important basic product in the chemical industry. However, a dozen environmental organisations have already appealed four times against the ethane cracker's permit in recent years.
Environmental impact
According to the Flemish government, the project will be “a new European benchmark in terms of technology, efficiency and environmental impact”. Given that other ethane crackers in Europe are quite old, the new cracker will emit significantly less CO2. Critics however state that Ineos doesn’t take all emissions into account, referring to the extraction and transport of the raw material ethane and the eventual incineration of plastics.
#FlandersNewsService | Current Flemish minister-president Mathias Diependaele (R) during a visit as Flemish minister to INEOS Project One in the Port of Antwerp, in August 2024 © BELGA PHOTO JONAS ROOSENS
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