Ratcliffe’s Ineos saves Runcorn plant
A plant producing chlorine that cleans 98 per cent of Britain’s drinking water has been saved from collapse by Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos, in a move that also help could prevent the UK becoming reliant from imported salt for the first time in history.
Ineos Inovyn, the chlorine arm of the billionaire’s chemicals empire, said on Friday it had bought the remaining 50 per cent stake of a Runcorn-based chlor-alkali plant that it did not own, giving it full control of the site that fell into administration last year.
The deal, which is expected to complete before the end of 2026, is also likely to help stave off the failure of one of Britain’s last remaining salt plants, which neighbours the Runcorn chlor-alkali site and whose operations are interconnected. Earlier this year, Inovyn had warned that without government support it may have to shut down the plant in Runcorn on account of the UK’s ballooning energy costs.
Around 98 per cent of the chlorine used to treat Britain’s drinking water is supplied by the Runcorn site, Ineos said on Friday, underscoring its importance to the country’s chemical production.
Salt is also a vital part of the supply chain. Chemicals derived from salt are used to purify water and produce everything from construction materials to plastics and explosives. Ratcliffe’s Ineos did not immediately say whether the transaction prevents any need for an injection of taxpayer cash to secure its long-term survival.
“This agreement reflects our confidence in the long-term future of the Runcorn site and its skilled workforce,” Ineos boss Stephen Dossett said. “Chlor-alkali products are essential to modern life, supporting safe drinking water, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, and the materials that underpin housing and critical infrastructure. This acquisition is an important step in strengthening the UK’s national resilience.”
Ratcliffe Runcorn deal lays bare chemical sector struggles
The deal, which is still subject to regulatory approval, comes amid escalating concern that Britain’s industrial base is being hollowed out as a result of the country’s persistently high energy costs and carbon taxes. The chemicals industry has been largest casualty the country’s sky-high energy costs, shrinking by 20 per cent in the past three years.
The sector’s collapse has sparked a chorus of warnings that the UK will become reliant on imports of chemicals that are vital to strategically important industries like water, food and defence.
The company behind the Runcorn site – known as Vynova Runcorn Limited – was one of several victims of the industry’s wider travails and collapsed into administration in December last year. As well as jeopardising roughly half the UK’s chlorine production and processing capacity, the move placed roughly 90 jobs at risk.
Founder Jim Ratcliffe has been an outspoken critic of the UK and Europe’s energy policy, branding it “all over the place” in a recent intervention. Industrial energy prices are more than four times more expensive than the US average and roughly double those in the European Union.
Ratcliffe has previously called for the UK’s net zero levies, which put a tariff onto firms’ energy bills to fund the green transition, to be abolished, warning it was “killing manufacuturing”.
“To meet this tax obligation, we will be forced to pause vital investment in projects that were designed to make our operations more efficient and more sustainable,” he said.