The board of US chemical company Dow has given the green light to a US$6.5bn petrochemical plant in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta.

Dow said the ethylene cracker and derivatives plant will be the first of its kind to be net zero.

The first phase of the “Path2Zero” scheme will add about 1.3 million tons of ethylene and polyethylene capacity a year; the second phase, to start in 2029, will add a further 600,000 tons.

Dow said the project would decarbonise 20% of its global capacity.

To achieve the net-zero, the plant will use technology from industrial gas firm Linde to convert waste gases to hydrogen, which will be used as a clean fuel for the site furnaces.

Carbon dioxide emissions will be captured and stored.

Dow said it picked Fort Saskatchewan because Western Canada offered cheaper natural gas.

Chief executive Jim Fitterling said the project would show that “industrial decarbonisation is both possible and profitable”.

Construction will start in 2024, with first-phase start-up in 2027.