Belgium to replace natural gas with hydrogen on industrial scale

Ineos (a British chemical company) and Engie (a French multinational electric utility) are partnered in a pioneering project to replace natural gas with hydrogen on a commercial scale which would be the first time in Belgium. In the pilot project, the natural gas will be replaced with hydrogen in the Ineos gas turbine to produce electricity and heat. A CHP plant at the Ineos Phenol site in Doel will be built for this purpose, the first of its types in Belgium. The initial plan is to replace 10% of the gas feed with hydrogen, which then would be expanded to 20%.

Engie will take care of the design, installation and operation of the technology at the Ineos site. Ineos Phenol has been handling hydrogen as a raw material for its chemical production and already has the permit for a potential hydrogen plant at the site. Ineos produces around 300,000 tonnes/year of hydrogen as a co-product during chemical processes, which is then used back as a raw material for producing various products.

In November 2020, Ineos started a new business focusing on developing and building clean hydrogen capacity across Europe. Through its subsidiary Inovyn, Ineos claims to be Europe’s largest existing electrolysis operator, with experience in the storage and handling of hydrogen. Inovyn was formed in July 2015 and is ranks in the world top three vinyls producers.

Engie and Ineos are members of a consortium developing the Power-to-Methanol project in the Port of Antwerp. The plan is to produce green methanol by reusing captured CO₂ in combination with hydrogen production.

Last year, Ineos signed two significant contracts to buy offshore wind energy from Engie. Ineos Phenol is the largest producers of phenol and acetone in the world. The nameplate capacity is 1870 K for Phenol and 1160 K for Acetone.