Exploring New Technologies at the Thames Refinery on our Journey to Net Zero

FEED project

We are delighted that our company Tate & Lyle Sugars received a grant from the UK Government’s Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) for a project to explore new technologies that could help our Thames Refinery in London decarbonize.

The project will undertake a comprehensive Front End Engineering Design (“FEED”) study to develop a solution that reduces the refinery’s natural gas consumption – and therefore CO2 emissions – by double-digit percentages.

“The FEED study will look at implementing technologies that allow us to re-use even more of our heat production than we currently do, as well as integrate innovative new sugar manufacturing technologies that use less energy,” said Ian St. John, Sr. Vice President, European Operations. “This project is a great example of reduce, re-use and recycle.”

Rather than wait for solutions such as carbon capture or fuel-switching to renewables, which may still be years away, this current project gives us the opportunity to reduce our fuel usage relatively quickly and keep us progressing on track towards our net zero target for Thames Refinery.

“The project could have double-benefits, allowing us to cut carbon emissions quicker and leave us with less fossil fuel to replace when the new technologies are ready,” said Ian.

The study will also address how we make these substantial changes to an existing, complex refinery that needs to continue to operate and supply the UK food market, as well as what these changes will mean to the plant’s wider overall energy supply and demand balance.

The project is jointly funded by Tate & Lyle Sugars and the IETF, and the aim is for the detailed and comprehensive FEED study to provide the level of design and cost information necessary to progress to a final investment decision.