TBG International Limited lodged a pre-application screening request with Fife Council last month. Energetic materials are the explosives, propellants and pyrotechnics that are key components in weapons. The plans would see the construction of “process buildings, earth-covered storage magazines with associated earthworks, ancillary buildings, access, parking, landscaping, drainage and associated infrastructure”. Existing offices and warehouses at the site would be altered and re-used.

TBG’s website says the firm is involved in “developing, manufacturing and delivering defence systems, technologies and capabilities for the United Kingdom, NATO and allies”. It also states an aim to “establish sovereign manufacturing infrastructure for weapons, ammunition, and energetics”.

A letter from Fife Council to the company indicates the development will require a full environmental impact assessment. It states: “This is because the proposal constitutes Schedule 1 development under paragraph 6(f) of Schedule 1 to the EIA Regulations, namely an integrated chemical installation for the manufacture, on an industrial scale, of substances using chemical conversion processes, in which several units are juxtaposed and functionally linked, and which is intended for the production of explosives.”

The Fife Ethylene Plant, near Cowdenbeath, ceased production in February 2026 after 40 years. Its owner, ExxonMobil, said the plant was no longer financially viable and was losing £1 million a week.

The closure affected more than 400 people: around 180 staff, 200 contractors and 50 other workers. ExxonMobil expects full decommissioning to be complete by early 2028, when the site will be made safe for dismantling.

The UK Government pledged up to £9 million to support workers who lost their jobs. It also invited companies to submit proposals for “bolstering munitions and energetics production in the UK”, as part of a wider plan to establish at least six new factories, with the first expected to start construction by the end of 2026.

The Scottish Government committed a three-year, £9 million funding package, including up to £1.3 million for training and employment support. Delivered through Fife College, it offers affected ExxonMobil employees and contractors courses in engineering, project management, and health and safety, along with practical career support, before redundancies take full effect.