Ineos secures €3.5bn for green cracker project

Ethane cracker plant at port of Antwerp to use hydrogen generated as a byproduct of its own ethylene production

Chemicals company Ineos has secured loans totalling €3.5bn ($3.7bn) to help fund the construction and operation of its ‘Project One’ low-carbon ethane cracker at the port of Antwerp in Belgium. In total, 21 commercial banks, including ABN Amro, Barclays, ING and Deutsche Bank have lent to the project, which Ineos says will be Europe’s most sustainable cracker and the continent’s largest chemical sector investment for a generation. Ineos has put the total cost at €4bn. Construction of the project started in December, and commissioning is scheduled for 2026. “Project One is a game-changer for Europe,” says Jason Meers, CFO of the project. “It will bring new opportunities to the chemical cluste