Dow selects Alberta for a projected net-zero-emissions ethylene complex

Dow Inc. plans to more than triple ethylene and polyethylene production capacity at Dow Chemical Canada ULC's petrochemicals manufacturing site just north of Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., in a phased manner through 2030, with a project that, if approved, will include construction of the world's first net-zero carbon emissions ethylene and derivatives complex.

The proposed brownfield investment at Fort Saskatchewan is part of Dow's strategy to continue investing in growth projects that position its businesses to meet its internal sustainability targets as well as its external pledge to achieve carbon neutrality on a site-by-site basis across its global asset base by 2050 in accordance with the Paris Climate Accord.

The Fort Saskatchewan project—which, in addition to new building, includes revamps of the site's existing units upgrading them to zero-carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions as defined by Scope 1—is still subject to approval by Dow's board and regional regulatory bodies.

The Fort Saskatchewan project—which includes revamps of the site's existing units retrofitting them to zero-carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions as defined by Scope 1 and Scope 2 of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard—is still subject to approval by Dow's board and regional regulatory agencies.

According to Dow, Scope 2 of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard will add about 1.8 million tonnes per year (tpy) of new capacity to the site in a phased manner through 2030, allowing it to produce and supply about 3.2 million tpy of certified low to zero-carbon emissions polyethylene and ethylene derivatives to global customers and joint venture partners.

Upgrades to Fort Saskatchewan's current operations will include upgrading existing infrastructure to accommodate the installation of a new autothermal reformer that will convert cracker off gas into clean, circular hydrogen (H2) that the complex can use to fuel its production processes, as well as a carbon capture and storage (CCS) component that will allow CO2 from the cracker to be captured on site and transported to an adjacent third party for storage.

Upgrades to Fort Saskatchewan's current operations will include upgrading existing infrastructure to accommodate the installation of a new autothermal reformer that will convert cracker off gas into clean, circular hydrogen (H2) that the complex can use to fuel its production processes, as well as a carbon capture and storage (CCS) component that will allow CO2 from the cracker to be captured on site and transported to an adjacent third party for storage.

Dow said it expects to complete the project at about 15% lower capital intensity than the high-performing TX-9 ethylene cracker and derivative units at the operator's olefins manufacturing complex in Freeport, Texas, in addition to decarbonizing about 20% of Dow's global ethylene capacity and growing its supply of polyethylene by about 15%, resulting in $700 million-1.2 billion in EBITDA growth across the value chain by 2030. 

The TX-9, which was recently expanded by 500,000 tpy to a nameplate capacity of 2 million tpy and is the foundation of the proposed Fort Saskatchewan investment, is currently running at more than 110 percent of its expanded capacity while emitting 60 percent less CO2/lb than other Dow crackers without H2 or CCS capabilities, according to the operator.

"Alberta's support for circular hydrogen and CO2 infrastructure are essential to enabling us to develop this net-zero carbon emissions manufacturing facility," said Jim Fitterling, chairman and CEO of Dow.

Fitterling continued, "Canada's support for this type of investment can serve as a model for how government investment can encourage the development and accelerate adoption of emissions-avoiding technologies and solutions,"

Dow noted that comparable government initiatives and support influenced the operator's choice to pursue a complete clean-energy transformation at its Terneuzen, Netherlands, manufacturing facility.

In the Netherlands, the operator is advancing the use of recycled plastic waste as a feedstock to produce virgin polymers, as well as collaborating with Royal Dutch Shell PLC on the design and scale development of electrified cracking technologies (e-cracking), which could eliminate the need for fossil-fuel combustion—and thus emissions—to generate steam in cracker furnaces.

Dow said it now plans to spend around $1 billion per year on the gradual decarbonization of its worldwide assets on projects that would continue to enable growth in a future carbon-neutral society. Dow has pledged to decrease its net yearly carbon emissions by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2020.

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