Top 10 Engineering Projects of July 2021

Plant Watch Top 10 Engineering Projects of July 2021

30.07.2021Editor: Ahlam Rais

The ‘Best Plant Engineering’ projects from all around the globe have been showcased here. Right from developing the first full-scale zero carbon-emissions steel plant in the world to building the world’s largest polyethylene integration project, find out all the projects making headlines here.

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At a glance: Plant engineering projects from across the globe.
(Source: ©Blue Planet Studio - stock.adobe.com)

Denmark: World’s First Dynamic Green Ammonia Plant to be Built by 2023

Green ammonia can serve as a clean fuel fix for the shipping industry.
(Source: Haldor Topsoe)

July 1 – Skovgaard Invest, Vestas and Topsoe have claimed to develop the world’s first dynamic green ammonia demonstration plant in Denmark. The dynamic approach entails that the clean power from wind turbines and solar panels will be connected directly to the electrolysis unit making it more cost-effective than if involving a battery or hydrogen storage.

Topsoe will design the plant’s dynamic ammonia technology to secure optimal production and adapt to the inherent fluctuations in power output from wind turbines and solar panels. The ammonia plant will interface to a green hydrogen solution developed by Vestas, integrating electrolysis with wind and solar in one smart control system.

The green ammonia plant is a prime example of how renewable electricity can be converted to sustainable fuels via electrolysis.

Kim Grøn Knudsen, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, Topsoe

In addition, the renewable energy generation will be connected directly to the national grid so surplus power can be sold to the grid. The project has received approximately 13 million dollars of funding from the Danish Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program.

UAE: Adnoc-Reliance to Develop New World Scale Plant

The project will be constructed in the Ta’ziz Industrial Chemicals Zone, which is a joint venture between Adnoc and ADQ, and represents the first investment by Reliance in the region.
(Source: Adnoc)

July 1 – Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) recently announced that Reliance Industries has signed an agreement to join a new world-scale chlor-alkali, ethylene dichloride and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production facility at Ta’ziz in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ta’ziz and Reliance will construct an integrated plant, with capacity to produce 940 thousand tons of chlor-alkali, 1.1 million tons of ethylene dichloride and 360 thousand tons of PVC annually.

The project is a testimony to the enormous potential in advancing India-UAE cooperation in value enhancement in the energy and petrochemicals sectors.

Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries

Adnoc is gearing up for growth with Ta’ziz, the world-scale chemicals production hub and industrial ecosystem based in Ruwais, with investment in excess of 4.9 billion dollars and a number of further growth projects in the downstream and industry sector.

Portugal: Repsol to Invest 780 Million Dollars for New Polymer Materials Units

July 12 – Repsol will build two polymer materials plants at its Sines Industrial Complex in Portugal, representing the largest industrial investment in Portugal in the last ten years, at 780 million dollars. The new materials produced are 100 % recyclable and can be used for highly specialized applications aligned with energy transition in the pharmaceutical, automotive and food industries.

The project includes a linear polyethylene plant and a polypropylene plant, each with a capacity of 300,000 tons per year.

The facilities will be operational in 2025 and make the Sines Industrial Complex one of the most advanced in Europe due to its flexibility, high degree of integration and competitiveness.

Germany: One of Germany’s Largest Hydrogen Generation Plants Breaks Ground

July 14 – Siemens has plans to build a 8.75 MW carbon-free hydrogen generation plant in Wunsiedel, Germany. The groundbreaking ceremony of this project was held in Wunsiedel and attended by the Bavarian Minister-President Dr. Markus Söder. The plant is expected to produce up to 1,350 tons of hydrogen per year using only renewable energy.

Hydrogen is a key technology on the road to a climate-neutral future. The energy transition will only succeed if there are many innovative approaches like the one pursued in Wunsiedel.

Thorsten Glauber, Bavarian State Minister of Environmental and Consumer Protection Affairs

Using the generated hydrogen in transportation and industry allows for CO2 savings of up to 13,500 annually. Siemens Smart Infrastructure is the general contractor for the entire plant and the electrolyzer will be supplied by Siemens Energy. The new hydrogen production plant is scheduled to go into operation in the summer of 2022.

Spain: Arcelor Mittal to Develop World’s First Full-Scale Zero Carbon-Emissions Steel Plant

July 16 – A recent memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by Arcelor Mittal and the Spanish Government has resulted in a 1.18-billion-dollar investment in decarbonization technologies at Arcelor Mittal Asturias’ plant in Gijón, Spain. The investments will reduce CO2 emissions at Arcelor Mittal’s Spanish operations by up to 4.8 million tons, which represents approximately 50 % of emissions, within the next five years.

At the heart of the plan is a 2.3-million-ton green hydrogen direct reduced iron (DRI) unit, complemented by a 1.1-million-ton hybrid electric arc furnace (EAF).

The MOU states the commitment of Arcelor Mittal and the Government of Spain to transition towards a decarbonized steel industry. Arcelor Mittal will introduce new manufacturing processes that contribute to a considerable reduction of CO2 emissions.

The new direct reduced iron (DRI) and electric arc furnace (EAF) installations at the company’s Asturias plant will enable Arcelor Mittal’s Sestao plant to become the world’s first full-scale zero carbon-emissions steel plant.

UK: One of World’s Largest Hydrogen Storage Facilities to be Built at Yorkshire

With an initial expected capacity of at least 320 GWh, the Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage would be significantly larger than any hydrogen storage facility in operation in the world today.
(Source: Equinor)

July 19 – Equinor and SSE Thermal have plans to develop a world-leading hydrogen storage facility at their existing Aldbrough site in Yorkshire, UK. The collaboration is claimed to be UK’s first end-to-end low-carbon hydrogen proposal connecting production, storage and demand projects in the North of England.

By delivering large-scale hydrogen storage capacity, we can utilize hydrogen to decarbonize vital power generation, as well as heavy industry, heat, transport, and other hard-to-reach sectors, safeguarding and creating crucial jobs and investment across the region.

Stephen Wheeler, Managing Director of SSE Thermal

The facility could be storing low-carbon hydrogen as early as 2028. The existing Aldbrough Gas Storage facility consists of nine underground salt caverns, each roughly the size of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Upgrading the site to store hydrogen would involve converting the existing caverns or creating new purpose-built caverns to store the low-carbon fuel.

The Aldbrough site is ideally located to store the low-carbon hydrogen set to be produced and used in the Humber region.

Morocco: Morocco to Develop Country’s Largest Green Hydrogen, Green Ammonia Project

It is anticipated that the Hevo Ammonia Morocco project would be jointly developed by Fusion Fuel and Consolidated Contractors Group. In addition, Vitol, would manage the offtake of green ammonia.
(Source: Fusion Fuel)

July 19 – Fusion Fuel Green (Fusion Fuel), a green hydrogen technology company, has announced that Aziz Rabbah, the Moroccan Minister of Energy, Mines and Environment, has recently unveiled the ‘Hevo Ammonia Morocco’ project at an event in Rabat, Morocco. The project is Morocco’s largest announced green hydrogen and green ammonia project to date, with an estimated total investment value of more than ~850 million dollars.

The ability to use our abundant solar and wind resources to produce carbon-free, green ammonia presents a strategic opportunity for Morocco to play a leading role in the decarbonized global economy.

Aziz Rabbah, the Moroccan Minister of Energy, Mines and Environment

Development of the first phase of the project is expected to begin in 2022 following the completion of a feasibility study. When fully commissioned, the project is expected to produce 183,000 tons of green ammonia and abate 280,000 tons of CO2 annually.

Germany: Siemens to Build One of Europe’s Most Powerful Battery Storage Facilities

Signing of the Letter of Intent.
(Source: Siemens)

July 20 – Siemens Smart Infrastructure and Zukunftsenergie Nordostbayern (Zenob) signed a letter of intent in Wunsiedel for the turnkey construction of a 100-megawatt battery storage facility in the German town. The plant, with a storage capacity of 200 megawatt hours, is intended to use surplus renewable energy and cover demand peaks in the power grid.

Electricity storage facilities are an important building block for shaping the future of energy.

Marco Krasser, Managing Director of SWW Wunsiedel

The 5,000 square meter energy storage facility is capable of supplying 20,000 average households with electricity for a year. The lithium-ion battery storage system will be provided by Fluence, a joint venture between Siemens and AES. Siemens will handle project management, including a technical implementation concept, as well as the construction of a medium-voltage switchgear system and connection to the high-voltage grid.

Russia: McDermott Secures Contract for World’s Largest Polyethylene Integration Project

July 23 – McDermott International has recently announced that it has been awarded an engineering and procurement contract for a spent caustic treatment solution on the Gas Chemical Complex (GCC) project from Heat Transfer Technologies DMCC (HTT).

The GCC project is owned by Baltic Chemical Plant, a subsidiary of Rusgazdobycha.

It is the largest polyethylene integration project in the world and is located near Russia's shores in the Gulf of Finland.

McDermott's scope includes license technology rights, basic design engineering package (BDEP), module detailed engineering design and full procurement of main equipment. The modularized solution for the spent caustic treatment solution will be an integral part of the GCC project and enable the project's annual production of up to 3 million tons of polyethylene.

GEA to Develop World's First Pilot Plant for Krill Protein Production

With its new pilot plant Aker BioMarine will manufacture INVI, a sustainably sourced krill protein hydrolysate that was recently classified as food safe.
(Source: Aker BioMarine)

July 28 – GEA has been awarded an EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract by the biotechnology company Aker BioMarine to establish the world’s first pilot plant for hydrolyzing krill protein.

The partners signed the EPC contract, valued in the double-digit million-dollar range, in July 2021.

Aker BioMarine is a biotechnology company based in Norway that fishes for Antarctic krill – tiny shrimp-like crustaceans – and uses them to develop ingredients for functional foods, aquaculture and animal feed. Slated to come online in late 2022, the new pilot plant will produce a highly concentrated protein isolate destined for food and beverages. The pilot plant is the next step in commercializing krill human protein powder. It will expand the current small-scale process to a scalable, industrial production level with a capacity of 120 tons per year.

"Thanks to innovative companies such as Aker BioMarine, the topic of ‘New Food’ is currently developing into an increasingly important future market, which is also of strategic importance for GEA,” says Ilija Aprcovic, CEO of the Liquid & Powder Technologies Division of GEA Group.

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