INEOS and Rolls-Royce SMR win big at 2025 IChemE Global Awards

ENGINEERING giants INEOS and Rolls-Royce SMR took home the biggest honours at this year’s IChemE Global Awards.

The annual event was held in the heart of Manchester and brought together some of the biggest names in chemical engineering, including award sponsors ExxonMobil, Johnson Matthey and Shell. Competition was particularly strong across the energy-focused categories, with standout entries from PETRONAS, INEOS and Wood.

Introducing the event, IChemE president Raffaella Ocone acknowledged the high standard of those vying for awards. She said: “The breadth and diversity of the entries clearly demonstrate how chemical engineering touches so many areas of society.”

Energy wins

INEOS secured the Oil, Gas and Energy Transition Award, sponsored by Kent, for its development of “pioneering” alkaline electrolyser technology. Alkaline water electrolysis – which uses renewable, low-carbon energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen – is expected by INEOS to become the preferred method for large-scale green hydrogen production. The project builds on decades of electrochemical expertise, particularly from the company’s BICHLOR chlor-alkali electrolyser.

An INEOS spokesperson said: “Our expertise in electrolyser and electrode coating development has yielded a product with class-leading efficiency, reduced emissions and enables the pathway for decarbonising industrial processes.” The company added that greater UK investment is needed across hydrogen production, storage and distribution.

Diversity and nuclear

Rolls-Royce SMR won two categories – Equality, Diversity & Inclusion and Nuclear Technology – beating strong entries from bp and the University of Michigan. The firm was recognised for its extensive employee inclusion networks, supporting staff with disabilities, tackling gender bias and championing marginalised groups.

Its nuclear innovation award recognised its work on safety and accident management. Rolls-Royce SMR is a leading developer of small modular reactors and was recently selected through the UK’s Great British Nuclear SMR competition to supply the next generation of nuclear power stations.

Other winners included Sellafield, which took the Process Safety Award for its metallic nuclear fuel immobilisation work and bp and Veolia, who jointly won the Innovative Project Award for an anti-corrosion treatment for refineries. Newcastle University and the University of Sheffield were among the academic winners, in the Research Project and Biopharma categories, respectively.

James Hendry from Newcastle University, said: “It means a great deal to win the Industry Project Award from IChemE – to have that recognition from other chemical engineers is fantastic.”

With more than 100 finalists across 16 categories, the programme featured an international lineup of winners and highly commended entries, including entries from the US, Germany, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and more.

You can see a full list of winners and highly commended entries at bit.ly/2025-icheme-global-awards

Entries for next year’s awards will open in the new year. Queries can be directed at awards@icheme.org.