For a century, the refinery based at Stanlow, on the river Mersey, has provided the fuel and chemical building blocks that people rely on for their everyday lives. EET Fuels remains committed to sustainably meeting the energy needs of the country. Supporting the UK’s energy transition ambitions, EET Fuels is changing the way fuels are produced by significantly reducing all emissions related to the company’s production processes.
EET Fuels is investing $1.2bn to support industrial decarbonisation, with the ambition to deliver a 95% cut in carbon emissions associated with its production processes by 2030. That is two million tonnes of carbon emissions per year – 12.5% of all of the North West’s carbon emissions, thereby making a substantial contribution to the UK’s plans to decarbonise industry.
Two key strategies
EET Fuels’ decarbonisation strategy will reduce refinery emissions with two state-of-the-art approaches:
- Industrial carbon capture (ICC) – announced in November 2022 and planned to be operational by 2028. The project will result in an annual reduction of approximately 1 million tonnes of CO2.
- Hydrogen fuel switching – using hydrogen as a fuel in place of natural gas and other refinery fuel sources, resulting in an annual reduction of approximately 1 million tonnes of CO2.
Deepak Maheshwari, CEO, EET Fuels, said: “This is an exciting time for our business. We are delivering on our plan to be the world’s first low carbon process refinery and world’s first low carbon process fuel producer. It is world leading and we’re pleased that it is happening now, in the North West.”
EET Fuels is part of Essar Energy Transition (EET), which was launched in 2023 to drive the creation of the UK’s leading energy transition hub in North West England. EET plans to invest a total of US$3.6 billion in developing a range of low carbon energy transition projects over the next five years, of which US$2.4 billion will be invested across its site at Stanlow, between Liverpool and Manchester.
Prashant Ruia, Chair, EET Fuels and CEO, Essar Energy Transition, said: “EET Fuels is key part of EET, which is building Europe’s foremost integrated energy transition hub. Leading by example, Essar Energy Transition is a major catalyst for region-wide industrial decarbonisation. We are playing our part to ensure that the UK is delivering on its climate change goals, has enhanced energy security, and maintains a strong, secure manufacturing base for fuels.”
Major player in UK transition
EET’s investment programme will play a major role in accelerating the UK’s low carbon transformation, supporting the government’s decarbonisation policy and creating highly skilled employment opportunities at the heart of the Northern Powerhouse economy. In addition to EET Fuels, EET also includes:
- EET Hydrogen, which is developing 1 GW of blue hydrogen for the UK market, with follow-on capacity set to reach 3.8 GW;
- EET Future Energy, which is developing 1 GW of green ammonia in India, targeted at international markets and;
- Stanlow Terminals Ltd, which is developing enabling storage and pipeline infrastructure; and EET Biofuels, which is investing in developing 1 MT of low carbon biofuels.
