Restarting Grangemouth

From Oil Giant to Green Energy Hub

There was a time when Grangemouth symbolised industrial power. Now, it’s a battleground for Scotland’s economic future — a vital energy hub being left to rot by private ownership and Westminster policy inertia.

Let’s be blunt: Scotland doesn’t need to abandon Grangemouth. It needs to reclaim it.

In this issue of The Bottom Line, we’re diving into what it would take to restart Grangemouth — not as an outdated fossil fuel complex, but as the beating heart of a Green Industrial Revolution in an independent Scotland.

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🛢️ The Decline Under the Union

Grangemouth is home to one of the UK’s largest oil refineries — owned by INEOS, a private multinational. It’s also one of the biggest emitters of CO₂ in Scotland, yet also one of the biggest potential launchpads for a transition economy.

But under the current system:

• Westminster controls energy policy

• Foreign corporations control the infrastructure

• Scotland gets pollution, but not the profit

With independence, we don’t just get to own the narrative — we can own the assets.

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🏗️ The Vision: Grangemouth 2.0

Grangemouth doesn’t need shut down. It needs retooled.

Our proposal:

• Transition from fossil fuels to green hydrogen

• Develop a national hydrogen hub, supplying clean energy across Scotland

• Convert parts of the site into a hemp and bio-refinery, producing sustainable materials, fuels, and fibres

• Integrate carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure

• Provide thousands of high-skilled jobs in engineering, research, and clean tech

• Partner with local colleges and university’s for workforce training

This is a model already being trialled in Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands — and Scotland has the engineering legacy, workforce, and natural assets to do it better.

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💰 How Much Would It Cost?

Let’s talk numbers.

Refurbishing and transitioning Grangemouth would require:

• ~£3–5 billion in infrastructure investment

• A Green Transition Fund to retrain workers

• Public-private partnerships — but public ownership of the land and key assets

• Long-term returns from hydrogen exports, biotech, energy storage, and circular economy industries

This is not government overspending — it’s nation-building with a future-facing return on investment.

Germany has committed over €9 billion to hydrogen infrastructure — because they see what’s coming. So should we.

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🌱 Why Hydrogen and Hemp?

Scotland is rich in wind, water, and space — ideal for green hydrogen production. Hydrogen is:

• Clean

• Flexible

• Storable

• Exportable

The global hydrogen market is expected to reach $410 billion by 2030. We’d be entering the game early — and with an edge.

As for hemp — it’s not just rope and hippie dreams. Hemp:

• Grows faster than trees

• Absorbs carbon

• Can replace plastics, paper, and concrete

• Can be used for biofuels, textiles, medicines, and more

A hemp refinery alongside a hydrogen plant at Grangemouth would create a circular green economy — powered by renewables, feeding into exports, and regenerating the local area.

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🛠️ Job Creation and Local Benefit

An independent Scotland could tie this to a community wealth model — meaning profits don’t vanish into tax havens, but are reinvested locally.

Projected benefits:

• Up to 5,000 direct and indirect jobs

• New SME and supply chain opportunities

• STEM pathways for young people in Falkirk and beyond

• Clean energy for domestic use and export

• Reduced reliance on volatile global oil markets

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🧾 The Bottom Line

Tied to the Union, Grangemouth is a dying monument to a broken system — privately owned, underfunded, and politically ignored.

Under independence, Grangemouth becomes a springboard — into a post-carbon economy powered by Scottish innovation, Scottish workers, and Scottish energy.

We don’t need to wait for permission. We need to take control and build the economy of tomorrow, today.

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🔜 Up Next:

Part 3 – The People's Market: Rebuilding Scotland’s Stock Exchange

Because if we want to build national wealth, we need a national marketplace — one that works for communities, not just corporations.

The Peoples Assembly Summit Tickets Here.