TotalEnergies reconfigures Antwerp platform for energy transition
TotalEnergies has announced a major reconfiguration of its Antwerp platform in Belgium to address the challenges of the energy transition and evolving market conditions. The site, which has served as a key industrial hub for the company for more than 75 years, is being adapted to ensure long-term competitiveness and resilience through significant investments.
Ann Veraverbeke, managing director of TotalEnergies Antwerp, explained that by regularly investing in the site, the company aims to maintain the Antwerp platform as its most efficient integrated refining and petrochemicals operation in Europe. She emphasised that these efforts will secure jobs and sustain the site’s relevance in contributing to market demands and decarbonisation goals.
The Antwerp platform is accelerating its decarbonisation initiatives with the integration of green hydrogen. TotalEnergies has signed a tolling agreement for 130 megawatts (MW) of green hydrogen production, as part of a 200 MW Air Liquide electrolyser project. The project will be powered by green electricity from TotalEnergies’ OranjeWind offshore wind farm, expected to come online by the end of 2027. The initiative is projected to reduce CO₂ emissions at the site by up to 150,000 tonnes annually and support European renewable energy targets.
The platform will also produce 50,000 tonnes per year of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through coprocessing, a method that allows hydrocarbons and biomass to be treated simultaneously in a conventional refining unit. This development, planned for 2025, is intended to assist aviation customers in lowering their carbon footprints.
In addition, TotalEnergies has commissioned its largest battery storage system in Europe at Antwerp, with a power rating of 25 MW and a capacity of 75 MWh. The system supports the decarbonisation of industrial operations and helps balance Belgian and European high-voltage transmission grids by mitigating the intermittency of renewable energies.
Facing significant overcapacity in the European petrochemicals market, TotalEnergies plans to shut down its oldest steam cracker at Antwerp by the end of 2027. The unit, historically reliant on a third-party contract that will not be renewed, will no longer have an outlet for its ethylene production.
The site will instead focus on its more modern steam cracker, whose ethylene output is fully consumed by TotalEnergies’ own industrial units in Antwerp and Feluy. The transition will be managed without any redundancies, with 253 affected employees offered tailored solutions, including retirement or reassignment within the Antwerp site. The project will proceed following the legally required employee consultation process, which will begin in late April.
TotalEnergies continues to place sustainability and competitiveness at the heart of its operations as it navigates the energy transition.
