Dow's $7.5B Path2Zero Gets Its Cogen Engine From Worley

Dow has selected Worley to engineer the cogeneration core of Path2Zero, the world's first fully integrated net-zero emissions ethylene cracker and derivatives complex in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. Worley will deliver front-end engineering design (FEED) for a brownfield cogeneration facility with integrated post-combustion carbon capture, targeted for operation by late 2030. The contract covers Phase Two of Path2Zero, and it signals that industrial CCS is moving past the pilot stage and into commercial-scale deployment inside active petrochemical facilities.

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What Is Dow's Path2Zero Project?

Path2Zero is a brownfield expansion and retrofit of Dow's existing manufacturing site in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. The site covers 2,128 acres and is one of the largest petrochemical complexes in Canada. When complete, it will be the world's first ethylene cracker and derivatives complex to achieve net-zero on both Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.

Dow's board approved the project in November 2023 with an original cost of US$6.5 billion. The revised total is US$7.5 billion following a construction pause in April 2025. In January 2026, Dow recommitted to the project. Phase One now targets late 2029, two years behind its original 2027 target. Phase Two now targets late 2030, one year behind its original 2029 target.

Phase One will add approximately 1.285 million metric tonnes per year of net-zero ethylene and polyethylene capacity. Phase Two will add approximately 600,000 metric tonnes per year. At full build, the site will produce approximately 3.2 million metric tonnes per year of certified low- to zero-carbon polyethylene and ethylene derivatives. The project also decarbonizes approximately 20 percent of Dow's entire global ethylene production capacity, contributing to North America's growing low-carbon chemicals footprint.

The Alberta Petrochemicals Incentive Program (APIP) is contributing approximately C$1.8 billion to the project. The federal government is contributing up to C$400 million through Canada's carbon capture investment tax credit and the clean hydrogen investment tax credit. As of Dow's January 29, 2026 earnings call, approximately 30 percent of total project capital spending is already complete, with heavy equipment procured and detailed engineering essentially finished.

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What Is Worley Delivering Under This Contract?

Worley, a global engineering and project delivery firm headquartered in North Sydney, Australia, has been selected under a new engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) contract. The scope covers FEED services for the cogeneration component of Path2Zero's Phase Two specifically.

Worley will deliver the brownfield installation of a cogeneration facility with integrated post-combustion carbon capture. The system captures CO2 generated during power and steam production at the site. Captured CO2 is then transported by Wolf Midstream via the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line to permanent geological storage. The cogeneration unit is targeted for operation by late 2030.

Work is delivered by Worley's Canada and India-based Global Integrated Delivery team. Worley joins previously announced Path2Zero partners Linde, Fluor, TechnipEnergies, and ABB.

Tim Burnham, Senior Vice President at Worley Canada, called it a landmark project reflecting a shared commitment to advancing industrial decarbonization, with a goal of setting new benchmarks for cogeneration and carbon capture facilities.

How Does Path2Zero Actually Achieve Net-Zero?

Path2Zero integrates three systems to eliminate Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions across the site. Each addresses a different source of carbon output at the complex.

Decarbonization Layer	Technology	Partner	CO2 Impact
Hydrogen fuel switching	Autothermal reforming + HISORP carbon capture	Linde	More than 2 million metric tonnes of CO2 captured per year
Post-combustion CCS + cogeneration	Brownfield cogeneration with integrated post-combustion capture	Worley (FEED)	Captures CO2 from on-site energy production; operational late 2030
CO2 transport and permanent storage	Alberta Carbon Trunk Line to geological sequestration	Wolf Midstream	Permanent underground storage in Alberta

First, cracker off-gas is fed into Linde's autothermal reformer to produce circular hydrogen. That hydrogen fuels the site's furnaces in place of fossil fuels. Linde's on-site complex will capture more than 2 million metric tonnes of CO2 per year using its proprietary HISORP carbon capture technology.

Second, Worley's cogeneration unit captures CO2 generated during power and steam production. It also reduces reliance on purchased grid electricity, cutting Scope 2 emissions. Together, the integrated systems are designed to eliminate approximately 1 million metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year at Fort Saskatchewan, covering both Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.

Third, all captured CO2 is transported by Wolf Midstream's Alberta Carbon Trunk Line to permanent geological storage. That infrastructure already operates across Alberta's Industrial Heartland and has capacity well beyond what Path2Zero requires on its own.

Why This Is a Signal for the Wider Chemicals Sector

Most CCS deployments to date have targeted power generation or standalone capture facilities. Path2Zero embeds carbon capture inside an active, expanding petrochemical production complex. That is a more commercially difficult problem, and a more meaningful proof point for the broader CCS industry.

Ethylene production runs continuously at high temperatures. Integrating post-combustion CCS with cogeneration in a brownfield environment, alongside hydrogen fuel switching, is a level of technical complexity the chemicals sector has not previously attempted at this scale.

The business case is designed to be replicated. Path2Zero is not a demonstration project. It is a brownfield expansion on infrastructure Dow has operated for more than 60 years. The US$7.5 billion Dow investment is supplemented by more than US$2 billion in third-party infrastructure from Linde, Wolf Midstream, and others. Dow projects at least 8 to 10 percent returns from the investment and approximately US$1 billion in EBITDA growth per year at mid-cycle business conditions.

For any petrochemical operator watching this project, the Path2Zero model offers a replicable template: brownfield retrofit, integrated CCS, government incentives, and long-term product demand from customers facing carbon pricing pressure in global markets. Industrial decarbonization structured this way is a competitive advantage, not a compliance cost.

By late 2030, Fort Saskatchewan will produce approximately 3.2 million metric tonnes per year of certified low- to zero-carbon polyethylene and derivatives, decarbonizing approximately 20 percent of Dow's global ethylene capacity in the process.