INEOS reaches new milestone with permanent grid connection for Project ONE
INEOS, a Catalisti member, has reached a new milestone in the development of Project ONE, the ethane cracker currently under construction in the Port of Antwerp. The project is a strategic investment for the chemical industry and an important step in strengthening and future-proofing the Antwerp chemical cluster. This week, the main substation of Project ONE was permanently commissioned, connecting the site to the electricity grid.
The main substation is the heart of the site’s electrical infrastructure. It will supply power to the cracker and its supporting utilities, including motors, pumps, compressors and control systems. All externally sourced electricity will come from wind farms in the North Sea, covered by power purchase agreements concluded by INEOS.
The commissioning of the substation clears the way for the next phase of the project: the commissioning of the installation itself. During this phase, all subsystems will be thoroughly tested to ensure they meet the required safety, reliability and quality standards. Given the complexity of the cracker, this will be an extensive process: around 700 systems will need to be checked and brought into operation.
Project ONE’s Grid Intake Station is connected to Elia’s high-voltage substation in Lillo via two underground electricity cables covering nearly three kilometres. The connection operates at 380 kilovolts, the highest voltage level in Belgium. This choice ensures maximum reliability and helps minimise energy losses during electricity transmission. Transformers then convert the voltage to levels suitable for distribution across the site.
A reliable power supply is essential for a cracker installation. An unexpected power outage could cause significant damage and delay the restart of the plant by several weeks. For that reason, the electrical network has been designed with a high level of redundancy, including parallel power supplies and back-up systems that can automatically take over if the primary supply fails.
Project ONE is one of the largest industrial investments in European base chemicals in decades. The new ethane cracker will produce ethylene, an essential building block for a wide range of applications, including materials used in wind turbines, solar panels and insulation. INEOS emphasises that the installation has been designed using best available techniques and will have a significantly lower carbon footprint than the average European cracker. In doing so, the company aims to contribute to the renewal, competitiveness and sustainability of the chemical industry in Flanders.