PROCESS Worldwide brings to you the ‘Top 10 plant engineering projects of July 2024’ from all over the world. Right from EET launching Europe’s first hydrogen-ready combined heat and power plant to Air Liquide’s innovative technology chosen for a world-scale CCS project, find out all the projects making headlines here.
At a glance: Plant engineering projects from across the globe.
(Source BlazingDesigns - stock.adobe.com)
Nextchem Wins Contracts for Equipment, Feasibility Study, Engineering Services
The new contracts also include a number of high value-added engineering services for prominent clients in different geographies.
(Source: Pixabay)
July 08 – Maire has recently announced that Nextchem (Sustainable Technology Solutions) has been awarded new contracts for an overall value of approximately 30 million euros by leading international clients mainly in the Middle East and Europe.
Among the new contracts, Nextchem’s subsidiary Stamicarbon, the Group’s nitrogen technology licensor, has been awarded a contract by a major Middle Eastern fertilizer producer to design and supply a state-of-the-art High-Pressure Pool Condenser, featuring the latest technology and design improvements.
Additionally, Conser, Nextchem’s subsidiary and the Group’s biodegradable plastics technology licensor, has been awarded by a prominent client in the Middle East a feasibility study based on NX Conser Duetto proprietary technology. This solution will allow to upgrade an existing line by shifting to the production of a biodegradable monomer.
The new contracts also include a number of high value-added engineering services for prominent clients in different geographies.
BASF Environmental Catalyst and Metal Solutions Begins Construction of New Facility
BASF Environmental Catalyst and Metal Solutions commenced construction of its first state-of-the-art production facility for green hydrogen and fuel cell components in Budenheim, Germany, near Frankfurt.
(Source: BASF Catalysts)
July 15 – BASF Environmental Catalyst and Metal Solutions (ECMS) commenced construction of its first state-of-the-art production facility for green hydrogen and fuel cell components in Budenheim, Germany, near Frankfurt. The products produced at this site will include newly developed low-iridium-loaded catalyst coated membranes (CCMs), a key functional part for proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis. This will complement the Celtec membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) for high-temperature fuel cells, which will also be produced at the facility. MEAs are critical components in fuel cells that enable hydrogen together with oxygen from the air to be converted efficiently into electricity.
The ECMS hydrogen business operates globally, with activities in Europe, North America and Asia. As the renewable energy ecosystem develops rapidly, the production of green hydrogen from water electrolysis will become a crucial pillar in supporting the global energy transition. The new facility will enable the commercial launch of newly developed CCMs for PEM electrolyzers with multi-gigawatt capacity to serve the global market. This investment allows ECMS to expand its capabilities in precious metals, catalysts and recycling, positioning itself as an integrated, full-loop, end-to-end solution provider across a range of product lines in the green hydrogen space.
“This new site in Budenheim fulfills a key part of our global strategy for hydrogen,” said Tim Ingle, Senior Vice President of Precious Metal Services and Recycling for ECMS. “As a global leader in precious metals services and catalyst recycling, the investment solidifies our support for the growing hydrogen economy with circular solutions that improve performance and reduce costs for PEM electrolyzers and fuel cells.”
“Our new products have progressed successfully from R&D into pilot scale. Production in Budenheim signifies a major milestone for the market introduction of these products and positions us in a strong place to leverage this sizeable business opportunity,” said Saeed Alerasool, Senior Vice President R&D and Application for ECMS.
The opening of the Budenheim site is planned for the summer of 2025. The facility, on the premises of an industrial site, is situated in the center of Europe within the Rhein-Main metropolitan area. The project is being developed with Trigona Fuel Cell Components and Grundstücksverwaltung Rheinufer.
EET Launches Europe’s First Hydrogen-Ready Combined Heat and Power Plant
Essar Energy Transition has recently announced the launch of EET Hydrogen Power, Europe’s first hydrogen-ready combined heat and power plant to be built at its Stanlow refinery.
(Source: Essar)
July 16 – Essar Energy Transition (EET) has recently announced the launch of EET Hydrogen Power, Europe’s first hydrogen-ready combined heat and power plant (CHP) to be built at its Stanlow refinery, with the aim of completing construction in 2027. The investment will support EET Fuels’ ambition to become the lowest carbon process refinery, globally and EET Hydrogen’s ambition to become the leading low carbon hydrogen producer in the UK. It will also provide low carbon power to other industrial users in the region to support their decarbonization targets. EET Hydrogen Power will become an independent vertical under EET.
Date: 08.12.2025
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EET Hydrogen Power will be developed over two phases to reach a capacity of 125 MW of power with 6,000 tonnes per day of steam, with the hydrogen replacing hydrocarbons delivering a reduction of 740,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum. The new plant will replace Stanlow’s existing boiler units, which currently generate approximately 50 MW of power for the refinery operations. The plant is integral to the decarbonization of operations at EET Fuels’ Stanlow refinery, which plans to cut total emissions by 95 % by 2030, to become the world’s lowest carbon refinery.
EET Hydrogen Power is a key infrastructure project, supporting the decarbonization plans of the wider Hynet industrial cluster as well as forming a blueprint for future industrial and power decarbonization. The investment also delivers on EET’s contribution in supporting and growing high skilled employment in the North West.
The investment into building Europe’s first hydrogen ready power plant is a key part of EET’s overall 3.0-billion-dollar energy transition initiatives in the North West of England.
EET includes: EET Hydrogen Power; EET Fuels (which is the owner of the Stanlow Refinery); EET Hydrogen, (which is developing 1.35+ gigawatt (GW) of blue and green hydrogen capacity for the UK market, with follow-on capacity ambition of 4 GW); and Stanlow Terminals, the UK’s largest independent bulk liquid storage terminal (which is developing enabling transport and storage infrastructure for biofuels and new energies).
BP Secures Funding for Green Hydrogen Project
The funding will help support the development of a 100 MW green hydrogen project next to BP’s Lingen Refinery.
(Source: BP)
July 16 – BP has been granted funding, provided jointly by BMWK and Lower-Saxony Government, as part of the European IPCEI Hy2Infra wave for a green hydrogen project in Germany.
The funding will help support the development of a 100 MW green hydrogen project next to BP’s Lingen Refinery. German Federal Minister of Economics, Robert Habeck, handed over the official letter for the grant on behalf of the German Government and the state of Lower Saxony at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) in Berlin.
Olaf Lies, Lower Saxony Minister for Economic Affairs, Transport, Building and Digitization, said: "The development of a hydrogen economy is an important building block for the energy transition in Germany and Europe. We want to form the central core of this hydrogen economy in Lower Saxony, because this is where good, future-proof jobs are created. BP's Lingen green hydrogen project will be a milestone in the production of green hydrogen.”
The project aims to install a 100 MW electrolyzer capable of producing an average of 10-11 kt of green hydrogen per year. The renewable power needed for the electrolyzer is expected to initially be supplied by an offshore wind Power Purchase Agreement.
Felipe Arbelaez, senior vice president hydrogen and carbon capture & storage said: "Hydrogen is a nascent market, but one that could play a significant role in the energy transition and industrial decarbonization. Government support is vital to unlocking this potential, and we are proud to be progressing this project within the European IPCEI program.”
Patrick Wendeler, Head of Country BP Germany added: "Today’s announcement underscores BP’s commitment to Germany as we progress our ‘and, not or’ strategy. Our Lingen refinery has helped provide German industry with the energy it needs for more than 70 years. Decarbonizing German industry is a significant challenge, and we are grateful to the German Government for helping us – alongside the green hydrogen projects from the IPCEI Hy2Infra wave – to play a small but significant role in helping solve that challenge. With this funding, we’re a step further towards progressing our green hydrogen project in Lingen that would enable us to provide low carbon hydrogen to industrial customers and our Lingen refinery in the future."
The green hydrogen from this project has the potential to support industrial customers, such as steel and chemicals producers, in an effort to decarbonize production processes in the region, including at BP’s Lingen refinery.
Air Liquide’s Innovative Technology Chosen for World-Scale CCS Project
Air Liquide's innovative large-scale CO₂ liquefaction technology, Cryocap LQ, has been selected by Stockholm Exergi to contribute to its BECCS project.
(Source: Air Liquide)
July 18 – Air Liquide's innovative large-scale CO₂ liquefaction technology, Cryocap LQ, has been selected by Stockholm Exergi, Stockholm’s energy company, to contribute to its Bio-Energy Carbon Capture & Storage (BECCS) project. This new technology is an important additional brick in Air Liquide’s portfolio of proprietary technologies that paves the way to developing large-scale Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) value chains. The CO₂ liquefaction solution allows to transport CO₂ over long distances to carbon sinks for permanent storage, contributing to the viability of CCS projects and emergence of a low-carbon industry.
Under the framework of the agreement, Air Liquide will provide the CO₂ liquefaction technology and equipment for the BECCS project to be built at an existing heat and power biomass (bio-cogeneration) plant in Stockholm. The Cryocap LQ CO2 liquefaction unit supplied by Air Liquide will be one of the largest in the world with a capacity of 3,500 tonnes per day. After liquefaction, the CO₂ will be transported for permanent storage. The BECCS facility aims to liquefy and store around eight million tonnes of biogenic CO₂ over the first 10 years of operation. The BECCS project is supported by the European Innovation Fund, one of the world’s largest programs for promoting innovative low-carbon technologies.
Air Liquide’s innovative Cryocap LQ technology, leveraging Air Liquide’s mastery and expertise in cryogenics, stands out with its chemical free, non-flammable process and compact design. This cutting-edge setup will also enable the recovery and reuse of heat generated from the process in order to supply Stockholm’s district heating network. These features allow enhanced sustainability and safety as well as best-in-class energy efficiency compared to traditional liquefaction solutions.
Wood Wins Contract for New Sustainable Packaging Production Plant
Following the successful completion of a Feed study, Wood will deliver EPCM services for the new plant located on Jurong Island.
(Source: Pixabay)
July 18 – Wood has been awarded a 40-million-dollar engineering design contract by Kuraray to build a new sustainable packaging production plant in Singapore. Addressing the market shift towards more environmentally friendly food packaging materials, the new plant will produce Eval, Kuraray’s ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) copolymer. Eval is widely used in food packaging to prevent oxygen from spoiling the contents and unlike other competing products is fully recyclable using traditional methods.
Following the successful completion of a front-end engineering and design (Feed) study, Wood will deliver engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services for the new plant located on Jurong Island. In addition, Wood will carry out modifications to an existing poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA) facility adjacent to the new plant, enabling Kuraray to streamline the production and recovery process of acetic acid, a critical component of the new Eval plant.
Giuseppe Zuccaro, President of Process & Chemicals at Wood, said: “Wood is committed to supporting the energy transition, and building a circular economy is a fundamental part of this process. This project will not only reduce food waste but increase the life of more sustainable plastics, ensuring materials are in use longer, reducing their environmental impact.”
Air Products to Develop Two New ASUs in the USA
Air Products will construct two new air separation units at its existing Conyers, Georgia and Reidsville, North Carolina locations.
(Source: Air Products)
July 18 – Air Products has recently announced two projects to enhance the sustainability, productivity, and operational flexibility of its base industrial gas business, as well as continuing commitment to the merchant industrial gas market. Air Products will construct two new air separation units (ASU) at its existing Conyers, Georgia and Reidsville, North Carolina locations. Both new ASUs will replace older units, provide additional capacity at the locations, and are projected to be onstream in 2026.
“Conyers and Reidsville have very attractive customer markets that Air Products has served for nearly five decades. The ASU assets at these locations have served Air Products very well and its customers very reliably. Now is the time to install new ASUs, which will have an even greater level of reliability, production, sustainability efficiencies and additional market growth,” said Francesco Maione, Air Products’ President, Americas.
Industrial gas products produced at Conyers and Reidsville will include liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen, and liquid argon for the regional supply of the established and growing merchant markets. The diverse range of customers served by the respective facilities are markets including chemicals, food, metals processing, primary materials, fabricated metals, electronics and for distributors.
Maione added that, “Air Products is committed to its terrific base industrial gas business and our commitment is evidenced by the investment in these two new ASUs. We can ensure enhanced product reliability to regional customers in that these new units can act as back-ups to each other, as well as for other company facilities producing the same products in neighboring and nearby states.”
Adnoc, Borealis, Borouge, Wanhua Chemical to Develop Polyolefins Complex
The consortium, comprising Borouge, Adnoc and Borealis, has signed a Project Collaboration Agreement with China’s Wanhua Chemical and Wanrong New Materials (Fujian), a subsidiary controlled by Wanhua Chemical.
(Source: Borouge)
July 25 – Borouge, a leading petrochemicals company providing innovative and differentiated polyolefins solutions, has recently announced an acceleration of its growth plans in its core Asia market, through a strategic consortium, aimed at developing a speciality polyolefins complex in China. The consortium, comprising Borouge, Adnoc and Borealis, has signed a Project Collaboration Agreement (PCA) with China’s Wanhua Chemical and Wanrong New Materials (Fujian), a subsidiary controlled by Wanhua Chemical.
The proposed complex in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, is set to produce 1.6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of speciality polyolefins leveraging both Borealis’ cutting-edge proprietary Borstar technology and Borouge’s extensive sales network. The consortium intends to establish a Sino-foreign joint venture with Wanrong New Materials (Fujian), with a shareholding ratio of 50:50 respectively, subject to customary regulatory approvals.
His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Managing Director and Group CEO of Adnoc and Chairman of Borouge, witnessed the signing ceremony in Beijing, along with Liao Zengtai, Chairman of Board of Wanhua Chemical and Fuzhou Mayor, Wu Xiande. Hazeem Sultan Al Suwaidi, CEO of Borouge, participated in the ceremonial signing on behalf of Borouge as part of the consortium, and Kou Guangwu, CEO of Wanhua Chemical Group, participated on behalf of Wanhua Chemical.
Hazeem Sultan Al Suwaidi, Chief Executive Officer of Borouge, said: “This strategic growth initiative builds on the robust economic ties between the UAE and China, and offers the potential to create value for Borouge shareholders by accelerating our expansion in China. The proposed complex will leverage the strengths of our partners and majority shareholders, who bring a capacity to deploy significant capital, world-leading technology, innovation and technical expertise, as well as extensive logistics and customer networks. We look forward to collaborating with our partners to swiftly deliver a sustainable feasibility study that will support our commitment to continue reducing our emissions.”
This strategic initiative will reinforce Borouge’s premium positioning in the fast-growing market for high-quality differentiated materials and represents a significant step in its international growth ambitions. As part of the consortium, Borouge is aiming to enhance its presence in China, the world’s single largest and fastest growing polyolefins market, where petrochemical self-sufficiency is being prioritized and further expanding the company’s strong market position.
The proposed project will leverage Borouge and Borealis’ industry and commercial expertise, as well as technology, supply-chain and logistics synergies across the Adnoc Group. It will also benefit from Wanhua Chemical’s strong track record and network in the Chinese market, along with China’s competitive construction and energy costs, as well as its accelerated execution timelines. The partners are committed to achieving net zero emissions and developing products that promote the circular economy and intend to power the planned specialty polyolefins complex with 100 % zero-carbon electricity, supported by the local government.
The final structure of the project and financial commitments will be established following the completion of the feasibility study, which will also explore artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to support automated plant operations.
Siemens Energy Secures Contract for Mega Hydrogen Project
Siemens Energy has been awarded a contract to supply a 280-megawatt electrolysis system by German utility EWE.
(Source: Pixabay)
July 26 – Siemens Energy has been awarded a contract to supply a 280-megawatt electrolysis system by German utility EWE. The plant in the German city of Emden is expected to go into operation in 2027 and will provide up to 26,000 tons of green hydrogen annually for various industrial applications in the region. If this green hydrogen replaces fossil fuels, around 800,000 tons of CO2 per year could be avoided in the steel industry, for example.
The electrolysis plant is part of EWE's large-scale hydrogen project “Clean Hydrogen Coastline”, which consists of four sub-projects. The electrolyzer represents the core of the Emden hydrogen production plant, which, including other necessary components such as compressors and cooling systems, has an average power consumption of 320 megawatts over its entire lifetime. In addition to supplying the electrolyzer, EWE and Siemens Energy have agreed a ten-year service contract.
The German Government and the European Commission had classified the project as a strategic funding measure, a so-called IPCEI project (Important Project of Common European Interest). The funding decision for this project was handed over to EWE last week at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection. With the signing of the contract, EWE and Siemens Energy immediately gave the go-ahead for implementation.
“This project is an important element in the ramp-up of the green hydrogen industry in Germany,” says Anne-Laure de Chammard, Member of the Executive Board of Siemens Energy. "With the long-awaited funding commitments, the German Government has placed the final piece of the puzzle to realize strategically important projects like this on a large scale. The immediate conclusion of the contract with EWE demonstrates that the industry is ready to swiftly implement these projects."
"EWE is active along the entire value chain with its hydrogen projects, from production to transportation and storage. Our choice of location in north-west Germany and our decision to work with Siemens Energy means that we are focusing on both regional and national value creation,” says EWE CEO Stefan Dohler. In a selection process that lasted twelve months, EWE had thoroughly examined ten electrolysis manufacturers worldwide. “I am delighted that we are also working with Siemens Energy on hydrogen, as the company is already a long-standing partner for EWE in all aspects of our energy infrastructure,” says Stefan Dohler.
The electrolyzer from Siemens Energy is based on PEM technology, which uses electricity to split water into its components hydrogen and oxygen along the proton exchange membrane. This technology is particularly suitable for operation with renewable energies due to the very flexible ramp-up times. The stacks - the heart of the electrolyzers - are manufactured in the new gigawatt factory at Siemens Energy's Berlin site.
KBR’s Blue Ammonia Technology Chosen for Shell Project in Oman
KBR has recently announced that its blue ammonia technology has been selected by Shell for its Blue Horizons low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia project in Duqm, Oman.
(Source: Faraz - stock.adobe.com)
July 30 – KBR has recently announced that its blue ammonia technology has been selected by Shell for its Blue Horizons low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia project in Duqm, Oman. The facility will utilize KBR’s leading ammonia synthesis loop technology to deliver cost-competitive and low-carbon intensity ammonia. Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide licensed proprietary engineering design for the 3,000 metric tons per day ammonia plant utilizing hydrogen produced by Shell’s Blue Hydrogen technology.
“We are excited to work with Shell on this breakthrough project in Oman and contribute towards achieving Oman’s Vision 2040 targets,” said Jay Ibrahim, President, KBR Sustainable Technology Solutions. “Our blue ammonia technology allows our clients to implement their energy transition projects with a cost-competitive solution at the lowest carbon intensity.”