Sir Jim Ratcliffe hosts Prime Minister Bart De Wever at INEOS €4 bn Project ONE ethane cracker in Antwerp
- Europe’s largest chemical investment in a generation reaches 70% completion
- Over 2500 workers on site as construction activity peaks
- Commissioning of the project is due to begin in Autumn.
Today INEOS founder and chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe, together with co-owners Andy Currie and John Reece, welcomed Prime Minister Bart De Wever to the €4bn Project ONE site in Antwerp – the largest investment in the European chemical sector in a generation.
The visit marks a significant milestone for the project, which has now reached 70% completion and employs over 2500 people on site. Construction is progressing at full pace, with major equipment, including giant furnaces and modular plant components, already installed. Civil works are nearing completion, and utility integration is well underway.
Prime Minister Bart De Wever revisiting the site for the first time since the groundbreaking in December 2022, praised the remarkable transformation:
"The progress on INEOS Project One is highly impressive and confirms why I have always fought for this project. What we see happening before our eyes here is how investment in new technology is dramatically reducing CO2 emissions and ensuring our prosperity for the future. We need to bring that faith in progress back to politics and public opinion."
Project One is well 'on track'
The innovative modular construction, enabled by INEOS access through Antwerp’s deep port, has allowed accelerated assembly on site. Partnerships with key infrastructure players, including Elia, Fluxys, and Waterlink, are supporting critical utility integration. The Power Intake Station, that will energise the site with 380,000V of electricity, is on track for commissioning after the summer.
Mechanical completion is expected by the end of 2026, with plant start-up targeted for early 2027.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe used the visit to highlight the broader industrial challenge facing Europe:
“Project ONE is the first new cracker in Europe in a generation — and that’s the problem. While the rest of the world is building over 20 new crackers, Europe is sleepwalking into industrial decline. High energy costs, painful permitting, and punitive carbon taxes are killing investment. INEOS is backing Europe with over €4 billion on this site, but we can’t do it alone. We need urgent political will and industrial ambition, or we’ll watch Europe’s chemical industry vanish.”
ABOUT INEOS PROJECT ONE
Project ONE is an investment by INEOS in the Antwerp chemical sector for the construction of an ethane cracker. The investment amounts to more than four billion euros, 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, found in medical applications, textiles, computer and smartphone casings, household appliances, packaging to preserve food longer and cosmetics. It is also used in lightweight parts for cars and wind turbines, insulation materials for the construction industry or pipes for transporting drinking water.
Project ONE will raise the standard for the chemical sector in Europe by deploying best available techniques. 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.
Operations are targeted to start in early 2027. The investment in Lillo will create 450 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs. At the peak of construction work, approximately 2,500 workers will be employed on the Lillo site.
Learn more at : https://project-one.ineos.com