Grangemouth Future Industry Board Leadership Forum minutes: December 2025

Attendees and apologies

• Scottish Government
• UK Government
• Calachem
• Celtic Renewables 
• CVS Falkirk
• Falkirk Council 
• Federation of Small Businesses
• Forth Green Freeport
• Forth Ports
• Forth Valley College
• GMB
• INEOS FPS 
• INEOS O&P
• MiAlgae 
• NECCUS
• Petroineos
• Piramal
• RWE
• Scottish Enterprise
• SDS
• SEPA
• Statera
• Storegga
• STUC
• Syngenta
• Unite the Union
• Veolia 

Items and actions

The Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy, Gillian Martin MSP, as co-chair alongside Minister for Energy, Michael Shanks MP, welcomed attendees to the meeting of the GFIB Leadership Forum. 

The Cabinet Secretary acknowledged the distressing situation at Mossmorran following ExxonMobil’s decision to close the Fife Ethylene Plant (FEP) in February 2026. The Cabinet Secretary emphasised that the Scottish Government is committed to supporting workers and securing future opportunities for the site and that work at Mossmorran will not take away from Grangemouth. 

The Minister for Energy further recognised the troubling events at Mossmorran, and committed to ensuring focused work at the FEP does not dilute the work of the Grangemouth Future Industry Board. 

The Cabinet Secretary and Minister for Energy noted that this meeting of the GFIB Leadership Forum is convened primarily to update members on the progress of the Investment Taskforce. The Cabinet Secretary and Minister for Energy then shared that they are visiting the site of MiAlgae’s new bioreactor at Grangemouth immediately after this meeting. £1.5 million is being made available from the Scottish Government’s Grangemouth Just Transition Fund, match funded by the UK Government, to support the construction of MiAlgae’s new omega-3 bioreactor at Grangemouth. This funding will create up to 130 direct jobs in the local area by 2029. 

The Cabinet Secretary further stated that the Scottish Government is allocating up to £6.23 million to support Celtic Renewables’ new biorefinery project at Grangemouth, subject to final negotiations and confirmation of standard public funding conditions. This funding will create up to 149 direct roles at Grangemouth by 2030 and is supplemented by an allocation of up to £595,000 to Scottish Enterprise to progress critical land and infrastructure enabling activities that will make the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster more attractive to investors.

The Cabinet Secretary stated that the Scottish Government’s Grangemouth Jobs Prioritisation Scheme will ensure that workers impacted by the closure of the refinery at Petroineos and INEOS O&P will be prioritised for these new employment opportunities through a guaranteed interview scheme.

Jan Robertson, Director for Grangemouth Transition, Scottish Enterprise, provided an update on the Investment Taskforce. The Taskforce is leading on work to identify and attract entities with an interest in progressing the proposals outlined in Project Willow and any other viable opportunities across the industrial cluster. This includes the funding provided to MiAlgae and Celtic Renewables announced today. 

Jan Robertson then provided an update on the GFIB Programme Board. The Programme Board is progressing actions through workstreams, designed to deliver effectively against the Grangemouth Just Transition Plan. The publication of the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster Strategy is a key milestone for the Programme Board. 

Forth Valley College Principal, Kenny MacInnes, presented an update on the skills intervention provided to reskill workers at Petroineos and INEOS O&P who have been made redundant as a result of the closure of the Grangemouth Refinery. 

The Cabinet Secretary and Minister for Energy thanked members for their attendance and contributions, reiterating the collaborative approach to support the future of the Grangemouth cluster and wider community.