Exclusive:Sir Jim Ratcliffe warns of industry 'extinction' as Grangemouth plant closes
Billionaire businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe has accused ministers of overseeing the extinction of one of the UK’s major industries.
The Ineos chairman said chemical manufacturing is having “the life squeezed out of it” by high energy prices and carbon taxes.
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Hide AdIt came as Ineos last week closed its synthetic ethanol plant at Grangemouth, which was one of only two in Europe.


The petrochemical giant said the plant had produced the equivalent of 25 billion bottles of whisky since it started production more than four decades ago.
The oil refinery at Grangemouth is set to close in the summer, with the loss of hundreds of jobs.
Ineos said the UK used to be a major force in chemicals, employing a large and highly skilled workforce, but 10 complexes have closed in the past five years.
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Hide AdIt said energy prices have doubled in the UK in that time and now stand five times higher than those in the US.
Sir Jim said: “Deindustrialising Britain achieves nothing for the environment. It merely shifts production and emissions elsewhere.
“The UK, and particularly the north, needs high quality manufacturing and the associated manufacturing jobs. We are witnessing the extinction of one of our major industries as chemical manufacture has the life squeezed out of it.”
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Synthetic ethanol was produced in the Grangemouth plant mostly for use in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors. It had a capacity of 180,000 tonnes per year, which was the equivalent of 226 million litres or enough to fill 90 Olympic swimming pools.
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Hide AdIneos called on the UK Government to take urgent action, including creating an energy policy “that provides globally competitive pricing of natural gas and hydrogen” as the UK moves towards net zero.
It also called for an emissions trading scheme that supports industry and decarbonisation equally, and a trade policy that supports UK manufacturing in its own domestic markets and does not incentivise imports.
Stuart Collings, chief executive of Ineos Olefins & Polymers UK, told The Scotsman the closure of the ethanol plant was a “sad loss” but warned more closures will follow across the industry unless action is taken.
Ineos said the plant's closure will result in a net loss of 80 roles, but all direct employees will be redeployed across the chemicals business at Grangemouth. However, it said more than 500 roles will be indirectly impacted in the wider economy.
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Hide AdA UK Government spokesperson said: "This is very disappointing news from Ineos. Although the company has said affected employees will be redeployed elsewhere across the site, this announcement will still cause concern for workers and their families.
"This is yet another example of the failure of Scotland’s two governments to have had a credible industrial strategy over the past 14 years.
“That is why the UK Government is developing an industrial strategy that works for Scotland and the whole of the UK, but that comes after over a decade where Scotland’s industries had no joined up plan for growth.
"Before July last year there was no plan to support the Grangemouth workers. Within a matter of weeks, and working with the Scottish Government, we announced £100 million to support the local economy and create jobs, and launched Project Willow to explore options for a sustainable industrial future for the wider Grangemouth site."
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Hide AdA Scottish Government spokesperson said: “As set out in our draft Grangemouth Just Transition plan, the Scottish Government is committed to securing a long term and sustainable future for the Grangemouth industrial cluster including for Ineos’ petrochemicals business.
“We recognise the valuable contribution that the business makes to the Scottish economy and its leading role in the plastics sector – particularly the contribution of the highly skilled workforce.
“Through the Project Willow cross site study and other initiatives, we will continue to explore viable routes to support industrial emitters at Grangemouth as they decarbonise and transition to low carbon and renewable projects.”
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