Positive decision by Flemish Environment Minister Zuhal Demir ends uncertainty and unleashes start of project of the future at port of Antwerp. 

With the granting of an environmental permit for Project ONE, the way is open for the construction and operation of Europe’s most sustainable ethane cracker. This decision finally brings clarity to all Ineos Olefins Belgium employees and subcontractors involved, and gives hope to other companies in Flanders with similar projects. Ineos believes in the importance of local chemical production on the European continent and is therefore investing in its renewal. The permit for Project ONE allows Ineos to further realise this vision.

Ineos lost its environmental permit for the plant, on which construction had already started, in July last year, because of concerns about nitrogen emissions.  The plant would convert ethane into ethylene, one of the raw materials used to make plastics.

“In October, Ineos Olefins Belgium submitted a request to amend the permit application in response to the Council for Permit Disputes’ ruling of 20 July 2023, which annulled the permit granted on 7 June 2022,” the company said in a statement. 

Project ONE is an investment by Ineos in the Antwerp chemical sector for the construction of an ethane cracker. The investment amounts to over € 4 billion, making it the largest investment in European chemistry in more than 20 years. The advanced plant will produce ethylene, one of the most widely used basic chemicals worldwide and an essential building block for a variety of products.

In particular, the investment will pioneer energy efficiency and have a carbon footprint less than half that of the 10% best steam crackers in Europe. The end of 2026 is targeted as the start of operation.