Why we will not be singing “Grangemouth no more…”

With the Grangemouth refinery closing and the Acorn CCS project securing £200 million in UK funding, this is a moment of reckoning – and renewal – for Scotland’s industrial future and Net Zero ambitions. Here’s how a strategic communication plan helped shape the story.

While our team was working on the development plans for Grangemouth and the Acorn Project, I had a familiar earworm of a song lodged in my brain. The Proclaimers’ Letter from America, with its now-iconic lament for Scotland’s deindustrialisation in the 1980s:

“Bathgate no more, Linwood no more, Methil no more…”

The 1980s industrial collapse was anything but a just transition. But we’re not ready yet to add “Grangemouth no more” to that list.

As the Petroineos refinery at Grangemouth prepares to close in 2025, the easy narrative is one of loss. A once-proud industrial heartland dimming into silence. Grangemouth no more.

But that’s not the whole story. And it's certainly not where this one ends.

These transitions are rarely easy. But if approached with intent, clarity and collaboration, they can lay the groundwork for something stronger, more resilient, and more future-fit. Grangemouth is now poised to be proof of that.

From decline to direction: shaping Grangemouth’s next chapter

For the last two years, Aspect has worked closely with Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and the Grangemouth Future Industry Board (GFIB) to help reimagine what Grangemouth can be.

We conducted over 100 stakeholder engagements, extensive policy and investment analysis, and – in a moment that captured national attention – delivered a powerful short film featuring the workforce, community leaders and government voices articulating a shared vision for the future.

What emerged was more than messaging. It was a plan.

Grangemouth isn’t just closing. It’s pivoting. And thanks to its infrastructure, location, and skilled workforce, it has all the ingredients to become a clean industrial hub - aligned with the Forth Green Freeport, the Falkirk Growth Deal, and £300 million in strategic public investment.

Our role included:

• Mapping the policy and funding landscape to identify real levers for transition
• Conducting deep-dive interviews with industry, government, unions and academia
• Designing a governance model to move from coordination to delivery
• Building a credible, inclusive strategy that industry could support, and government could drive

The resulting Just Transition Plan, launched by Scottish Government in 2024, stands as a blueprint for place-based decarbonisation across the UK.

The power of a story: why Acorn’s £200m moment matters

Meanwhile, up the coast at St Fergus, another critical piece of the puzzle snapped into place.

In summer of this year, the Acorn Project – Scotland’s flagship carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiative – secured £200 million in UK Government development funding. For carbon management in the UK, it was a historic milestone. For Grangemouth’s transition, it was essential.

The connection is direct: CO₂ from future hydrogen and e-fuel production at Grangemouth will be transported to Acorn’s subsea storage via dedicated pipeline. Without Acorn, many of Grangemouth’s low-carbon ambitions wouldn’t be viable.

But this win didn’t happen overnight.

Over the past four years, Aspect has worked as Acorn’s trusted communications partner –navigating delays, scrutiny, and shifting political headwinds to help position Acorn as a national infrastructure priority.

What we delivered:

• Developed Acorn’s narrative architecture, messaging framework and public identity
• Built digital and stakeholder platforms to engage investors, government and community
• Shaped messaging for ministerial briefings, major media moments and track status announcements
• Executed the communications strategy for the 2025 funding announcement, managing media, scenarios and stakeholder correspondence under pressure

The results vindicated our strategy: Along with the funding, the project achieved credibility, clarity and continued momentum.

Communication as infrastructure

The lesson from both Grangemouth and Acorn is simple but often overlooked. Infrastructure projects don’t succeed on engineering alone. They succeed when supported by:

• A clear, credible story grounded in purpose
• Trust-based engagement that listens before it speaks
• Strategic resilience to ride out complexity and keep moving forward

Both projects have shown what’s possible when communication isn’t an afterthought but a core capability.

Why it matters for Scotland and beyond

Together, Grangemouth and Acorn represent something bigger than two projects. They are twin anchors in Scotland’s industrial transformation: one a challenge of managed decline and reinvention; the other a case study in innovation, investment and national relevance.

They are also a glimpse of the future: a just transition that doesn’t leave places behind. A low-carbon economy that still creates value. And a version of net zero that’s not only ambitious but achievable.