Chemicals giant Dow has partnered with industrial gases firm Linde for supply of hydrogen and nitrogen to its planned low-carbon ethylene cracker and derivatives site at Fort Saskatchewan in Alberta, Canada.

Dow plans to use cracker offgas as feedstock for blue hydrogen production, with CO₂ captured onsite for transportation and storage by third-party storage providers. The company expects the project will decarbonise 20pc of its global ethylene capacity while growing polyethylene supply by 15pc.

The proposed ethylene cracker will add 1.8mn t/yr of cracking capacity by 2030, which along with derivatives capacity and site retrofits will enable it to produce 3.2mn t/yr of low-carbon polyethylene and ethylene derivatives.

2027 – Expected startup of first phase

Linde will complete design and engineering for an air separation and autothermal reformer complex, which it will own and operate, integrated with its existing operations in Fort Saskatchewan.

FID on both the cracker and hydrogen production facilities is expected by Q4 this year. The project’s first phase could start up in 2027.

Dow announced in 2021 that the cracker could be completed with 15pc lower capital intensity than its Texas-9 cracker, built in 2017. The company targets more than half of its polyethylene capacity to be circular, renewable or zero-carbon by 2030.

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Author: Polly Martin