Ineos has received a €300 million ($353m) grant from the French government to accelerate its plans to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 331,000 tonnes a year at its Lavera refinery.
The programme forms part of the next phase of the Lavera regeneration plan and will see proven energy efficient technology installed at the site.
The company said the reduction is equivalent to removing more than 70,000 cars from the road each year.
Support is being provided through the Appel d Offres Grands Projets Industriels de Décarbonation scheme, known as AO GPID, which forms part of the France 2030 investment plan. It is operated by the French Environment and Energy Management Agency .
The scheme provides annual grants for major industrial decarbonisation projects that deliver verified emissions reductions over a 15-year period.
High energy costs
The investment comes at a time when chemical plants across Europe are facing pressure from high energy costs and global competition.
According to Ineos, the project is intended to provide greater certainty for around 2,000 direct employees at Lavera and more than 10,000 people across the wider supply chain.
Ineos chief executive Jim Ratcliffe said: “This starts with protecting skilled jobs. The answer is not decarbonisation by deindustrialisation. Lavera employs thousands of people. It sits at the heart of French manufacturing. We are investing because France understands that a strong industrial base matters.
“Securing essential materials at home, rather than importing them from China or the US, is simply common sense. This investment gives Lavera long-term resilience, sharpens its competitiveness and renews technology that cuts emissions by 331,000t a year. That is real industrial leadership.
“Europe needs a lot more of it if it wants to keep jobs, investment and sovereignty.”
Industrial resilience
Lavera supplies materials that feed into sectors including food packaging, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, aerospace, transport, clean energy, and defence.
Maintaining these capabilities within France is important for industrial resilience and domestic production of critical raw materials, according to Ineos.
The upgrades are expected to lower the carbon intensity of the site and create a pathway towards net zero as electrification and carbon capture technologies develop.
The investment is also expected to support circular economy objectives by enabling the Lavera cracker to process increased volumes of sustainable feedstocks derived from recycled plastics and bio-sourced materials, replacing fossil-based inputs.
Combined with a €250m ($294m) investment announced in November 2025, total planned investment at the Lavera site now exceeds €550 million ($647m). Ineos said it will work with the French government throughout the delivery of the programme.
