UK and Ireland Process Plant Projects to Watch in 2026
Eleven UK and Irish process plant projects in pharma, food and drink, carbon capture, hydrogen and lithium, with values, timing and named contractors.
Pharma tablet and sterile filling capacity, food and drink lines, and low carbon energy plants are where much of the announced UK and Irish process investment is going in 2026. Below are eleven projects in design or construction, what they are building, who holds the main contracts where that is public, and what that means if you supply process equipment.
Why this matters now
The UK government reported more than £3bn of new public and private life sciences investment in the first twelve months of its Life Sciences Sector Plan [1]. At the same time, high energy prices are idling chemical capacity: INEOS said in September it was mothballing its three acetyls units at Hull, pointing to energy costs [2].
So the market is not growing evenly. Money is flowing into medicines, food and drink, carbon capture and hydrogen, while some commodity chemical sites shrink. For a supplier, that decides which conversations are worth having this year.
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The projects
Every figure below comes from an owner, project partner or government announcement. Where no contractor is named, the cited announcement does not name one.
| Project | Location | What is being built | Value | Timing | Contractors and technology partners named |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net Zero Teesside Power [3] | Teesside | Gas power station of up to 742 MW capturing about 95% of its CO2 | Not stated | Start up expected 2028 | Technip Energies with GE Vernova, Balfour Beatty and Shell Catalysts & Technologies |
| Padeswood carbon capture [4] | Flintshire | Capture of about 800,000 t of CO2 a year at a cement works | Not stated | Not stated | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Worley |
| Protos carbon capture [5] | Ellesmere Port | Capture of about 370,000 t of CO2 a year at an energy from waste plant | Not stated | Due for completion in 2029 | Kanadevia Inova |
| Tees Valley Lithium [6] | Billingham | 25,000 t a year lithium hydroxide refinery, phase 1 | £185m phase 1; government offer in principle of up to £18.3m | First output targeted early 2028 | Veolia process technology |
| Barrow Green Hydrogen [7] | Barrow in Furness | 30 MW electrolyser supplying Kimberly Clark’s site | Not stated | Operating 2028 | Dalkia Engineering (EPC), Plug Power electrolysers |
| UCB Windlesham campus [8] | Surrey | Research hub that will also support innovation in medicines manufacturing | About £500m | Opening 2027 | None named |
| Norgine Hengoed [9] | South Wales | More production and warehouse space, faster and more efficient manufacturing, stronger quality control | £23m | Not stated | None named |
| Mars Slough [10] | Berkshire | Robotics, new machinery, advanced cooling, efficient utilities, digital twin | £190m programme 2023 to 2028 | To 2028 | None named |
| Premier Foods Worksop [11] | Nottinghamshire | Expanded cooking sauce plant with a new high speed line | £36m | Phased to 2029 | None named |
| Novo Nordisk Athlone [12] | Athlone | Tabletting facility for GLP 1 medicines and site upgrades | €432m | Stages from end 2027 into 2028 | None named |
| Astellas Tralee [13] | Co. Kerry | Second aseptic filling line, doubling drug product capacity | Not stated | No date for the line; new roles by 2029 | None named |
What projects like these buy
The announcements rarely list equipment, but the type of plant tells you a lot about the scope. As a guide to where to look:
- Carbon capture and hydrogen: absorber and stripper columns, large heat exchangers, CO2 compressors, pumps, pressure vessels, water treatment and a great deal of instrumentation.
- Oral solid dose pharma: granulation, drying, blending, tablet presses and coating, containment, dust extraction, clean utilities and HVAC.
- Sterile filling: isolators, filling lines, purified water and water for injection systems, clean steam and cleanroom HVAC, all with heavy qualification paperwork.
- Food and drink: processing and cooking lines, hygienic pumps and valves, CIP systems, refrigeration, packaging automation and robotics.
How suppliers get on the list
Two things decide whether you are invited to quote.
First, who is buying. Where a main contractor holds the engineering and construction contract, it usually runs the equipment packages, so that is your door. Where none is named, the owner's engineering or procurement team is the starting point, often through its engineering partner.
Second, timing. Vendor lists for long lead equipment are usually shaped during front end design, well before construction news reaches the trade press. By the time a groundbreaking photo appears, the big packages may already be placed. Smaller packages, spares, services and site work keep flowing for years.
Practical example
A UK fabricator of stainless steel vessels and skids reads this list. It does not chase every project. It picks the two that match its references: the sterile filling line in Tralee and the carbon capture plant at Ellesmere Port.
For each, it prepares a one page capability sheet: comparable vessels it has built, materials and codes it works to, its pressure equipment conformity route, its quality system, realistic lead times and two contacts who can vouch for it. It sends that to the main contractor's procurement team for Protos and to the owner's engineering team at Tralee, and asks one question: which packages are still to be placed, and when?
That is a far better use of a week than a generic mailshot.
Be easy to find when buyers search
When a buyer needs a new supplier, the search often starts online. ChemCapital's Supplier Discovery helps procurement teams find and shortlist suppliers for exactly this kind of equipment, then send them a structured RFQ. If you supply process equipment, list your company on ChemCapital so you are there when they look. For what wins once the RFQ arrives, read how industrial suppliers win more RFQs.
Frequently asked questions
Which pharmaceutical investments are under way in the UK and Ireland?
Among those announced: UCB's research hub at Windlesham, Novo Nordisk's tabletting facility in Athlone, Astellas's second aseptic filling line in Tralee and Norgine's expansion at Hengoed.
How do equipment suppliers get onto a project's vendor list?
Find out who runs the equipment packages, usually the main contractor where one is named, and approach them early, ideally during front end design, with comparable references and realistic lead times.
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Informational only, not procurement or legal advice. Cited names, frameworks, and statistics belong to their respective owners.
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