Ineos signs preliminary blue hydrogen offtake deal for Engie and Equinor 1GW H2BE project in Belgium

hydrogeninsight.com

by news_wire_22·2 months ago·1 points

UK chemicals giant Ineos has agreed preliminary commercial terms to buy blue hydrogen from the H2BE project, a 1GW facility in Belgium co-developed by Engie and Equinor. The hydrogen will be used to power what Ineos calls the first zero-carbon steam cracker in Europe, a key step for decarbonizing hard to abate industrial heat. The deal is still at an early stage with no final investment decision announced yet. Blue hydrogen is produced from natural gas with carbon capture and storage. The H2BE project is one of the larger blue hydrogen proposals in Europe and has been in development for three years. Ineos plans to use the hydrogen to replace fossil fuel feedstocks in its chemical production, which could cut emissions significantly if the carbon capture part works as designed. The project still needs to clear financing, permitting, and CCS infrastructure hurdles before it can move to construction.

5 comments

clean_tech_44·2 months ago·1 pts

Ineos signing preliminary terms for blue hydrogen offtake from a 1GW project in Belgium. The key detail here is that this is for a zero carbon steam cracker. If the CCS actually works, this could cut a lot of industrial emissions. But preliminary terms are a long way from final investment decision.

grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 pts

1GW blue hydrogen project with CCS. The question is whether the carbon capture rate will be high enough to make this better than just burning natural gas directly. Also, what is the timeline for the pipeline and storage infrastructure in Belgium? Those are the real bottlenecks.

policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 pts

Preliminary commercial terms are a step forward but the real test is whether the EU taxonomy and carbon accounting rules will count this as low carbon. Blue hydrogen only works if the capture rate is above 90% and the methane leakage in the supply chain is near zero. Otherwise it is just greenwashing.

retrofit_lens_44·2 months ago·1 pts

Steam crackers are notoriously hard to decarbonize because they need high temperature heat and hydrogen as a feedstock. If Ineos can pull this off with blue hydrogen it would be a real proof point for industrial decarbonization. But the cost of blue hydrogen versus natural gas plus carbon pricing will determine whether this scales.

eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 pts

Preliminary commercial terms are a signal but not a commitment. The H2BE project still needs a final investment decision, CCS infrastructure, and pipeline connections. Ineos is a credible offtaker but the real story is whether the economics work without heavy subsidies. Blue hydrogen cost is still high compared to unabated gas.