Essar Oil UK Stanlow Refinery net zero ready furnace replacement

Essar Oil UK is replacing a furnace at its Stanlow Refinery with one designed to run on 100% hydrogen. This matters because oil refineries are major industrial sources of carbon dioxide and other pollutants. The current furnace burns oil to heat crude oil during distillation, a process that separates crude into usable products like petrol and diesel. The new furnace will capture more heat from exhaust gases, cutting energy waste, and eliminate oil firing entirely. It will also reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, a local air pollutant. If successful, the furnace will cut the refinery’s annual CO₂ emissions by 11%. It is designed to switch to carbon-free hydrogen from the planned HyNet project once that supply becomes available. The company believes this will be the first UK oil refinery furnace built specifically for 100% hydrogen firing. Construction is set to begin in 2021, with completion by September 2023. The project is a concrete step in decarbonising heavy industry—a sector that underpins fuel supply, plastics, and chemicals but is notoriously hard to clean up.