Syngas News Roundup

Syngas News

CHINA

Jiangsu Sailboat starts up CO2 -to-methanol plant

Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical has started up a CO2 -to-methanol plant at the Shenghong Petrochemical Industrial Park. The plant was developed in conjunction with Iceland’s Carbon Recycling International (CRI), with the plant brought to life in under two years from the initial contract signing. The methanol plant uses CRI’s proprietary emissions-to-liquids (ETL) technology, transforming waste carbon dioxide and hydrogen gases into sustainable, commercial-grade methanol. According to CRI, uses 150,000 t/a of carbon dioxide sourced from waste streams at the large petrochemical complex as feedstock, significantly reducing emissions that would have otherwise been released into the atmosphere. The plant has the capacity to produce 100,000 t/a of sustainable methanol, used primarily to supply Jiangsu’s methanol to olefins facility to produce chemical derivatives, including sustainable plastics and EVA coatings for solar panels. This is expected to reduce the reliance on fossil-based methanol to drive more sustainable value chains and carbon footprint reduction initiatives across various sectors, such as industrial manufacturing and renewable energy.

Qian Xinhua, Vice President of Shenghong Petrochemical Industry Group, said at the plant opening ceremony: “This green industrial value chain project is a significant step forward. It uses advanced green and low-carbon technology to capture carbon dioxide and turn it into a resource. Further implementation of such technology allows us to combine green hydrogen, renewable energy and more to create new materials, replacing the traditional raw materials used in the chemical industry.”

Björk Kristjánsdóttir, CEO of CRI, commented: “This milestone plant not only expands the reach of our technology into new application markets but also showcases the broad versatility and unmatched efficiency of our ETL technology, proving the viability of large-scale sustainable methanol production.”

GERMANY

Renewable methanol for shipping

Hy2gen, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd to study supplying green methanol for use as a shipping fuel. Hy2Gen is a global project developer, owner, and operator of renewable hydrogen and hydrogen derivative production facilities, while Mitsui OSK is one of the world’s largest shipping companies. The fuel will be produced as part of Hy2gen’s NAUTILUS project, which is being developed at Friesoythe site, near the c-Port on the Kiel canal. The methanol will be generated using renewable hydrogen and CO2 from a neighbouring biogas plant. First production at the plant is scheduled for early 2028.

Cyril Dufau-Sansot, CEO of Hy2gen, said: “We are proud to become a close partner and supplier to such a global player in the shipping industry. We are looking forward to supporting MOL with our products. The renewable methanol from Friesoythe will be important for the decarbonisation of the shipping industry worldwide.”

Hydrogen tugs for Hamburg

Mabanaft has agreed with Fairplay Towage Group, one of Europe’s largest tugboat operators, to supply hydrogen to their new tugs in the Port of Hamburg from 2025. Fairplay Towage intends to add tugboats to its fleet in Hamburg capable of running on hydrogen. Mabanaft Group, a supplier of marine fuels and operator of tank terminals in the Port of Hamburg, intends to supplement its range of marine fuels with hydrogen and to use its tank terminals in Hamburg for this purpose, in order to be able to supply Fairplay Towage with hydrogen. In November 2022, Mabanaft announced its intention to build an ammonia import terminal in the Port of Hamburg, the first step in the development of New Energy Gate, a terminal for sustainable hydrogen products that will make it possible for Hamburg to import large quantities of climate-friendly energy.

ESTONIA

Approval for methanol storage solution on existing ships

A new and space efficient retrofit methanol storage technology developed by Estonia’s SRC Group has received Approval in Principle from Lloyd’s Register, paving the way for it securing classification approval and regulatory compliance. Methanol Super-storage offers the potential for ships with years of service ahead to be considered for transition to a marine fuel established as a front runner for meeting IMO targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions from ships by at least 20% by 2030 and 70% by 2040 (against a base year of 2008). Clarksons reported that 14% of tonnage on order this year will be methanol-capable, compared to a 22% share for liquefied natural gas. The analyst has estimated that 1,200 ships could be powered by methanol by 2030.

However, while renewably-sourced methanol fits the net-zero framework, and is fairly easy to store and handle, it takes twice as much to generate the same energy as fuel oil. On board ship, this is a major storage issue, especially because low flashpoint fuel tanks conventionally require cofferdams. Although space penalties can be addressed in newbuild ship design, even the youngest existing ships were not built with retrofitting methanol in mind. Methanol Superstorage avoids cofferdams by constructing tank walls using SRC’s Sandwich Plate System Technology, boosting the stored methanol volume by up to 85% with minimal impact on the general arrangement.

“Due to long-established use in other industries, availability and performance, methanol is the alternative marine fuel offering the strongest potential to reduce ship GHGs at pace,” said Hannes Lilp, CEO, SRC Group. “Methanol Superstorage reinvents methanol storage using the proven SPS Technology system. Instead of a cofferdam which extends – at least – to 600mm, the solution uses a 25mm thick SPS barrier to protect the tank from fire and as a triple barrier against leakage.”

EGYPT

Deal to develop green methanol plant

C2X, founded earlier this year by shipping giant Maersk and its parent company AP Moller Holdings, has signed a framework agreement with the Egyptian government to set up a $3bn hydrogen-to-marine-fuel plant in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. C2X will build, own and operate the facility, as well as the upstream wind and solar farms that will power the hydrogen production and methanol synthesis processes. The first phase is expected to produce up to 300,000 t/a of green methanol once it starts up in 2027 or 2028, with subsequent stages eventually scaling up to 1.0 million t/a. Maersk has already launched its first methanol fuelled ship, and ordered another 25 container vessels capable of running on the fuel for delivery early next year. C2X is also reportedly exploring the development of projects in Spain, the US, India and Australia, with the ambition of producing three million tonnes of green methanol a year by 2030. However, Maersk’s own annual demand for the fuel will reach five million tonnes by that year.

UNITED STATES

Beaumont plant to double green methanol production

OCI Global has announced plans to double its green methanol production capacity to approximately 400,000 t/a in response to the growing demand for green methanol from numerous high emissions industries, including road transport, shipping and industrial. The scale-up plans include entering into supply agreements for renewable natural gas exceeding 15,000 MMBtu/day, as well as securing the waste and development rights from the city of Beaumont to achieve OCI’s first upstream RNG production facility with production slated to start in Q1 2025. As well as reducing carbon dioxide emissions, OCI says that obtaining biogas from landfill has the benefit of using methane – which over a 20 year period, has a global warming potential that is 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide – that would otherwise escape and accelerate global warming.

“(This) announcement cements OCI’s position as the leading green methanol producer globally,” Ahmed El-Hoshy, CEO, OCI Global said. “It also represents another milestone in our decarbonisation journey as a business, and our commitment to driving the energy transition. We are seeing encouraging signs with regulatory support for both ammonia and methanol in shipping, such as the EU’s FuelEU maritime regulation and the latest IMO strategy bolstering the value of low carbon and green methanol and ammonia relative to fossil fuels. It is clear that both fuels will need to play an integral role to reach the IMO’s revised targets and OCI Global stands ready to supply them. However, these targets must be supported by practical mechanisms to continue to maintain momentum towards meeting global greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.”

Methanex’s methanol plants, Trinidad

PHOTO: METHANEX

“We are seeing increasing pull from road fuel markets due to the delay in EV adoption and charging station build-out and while marine demand has been growing at a very fast pace, we have yet to see the impact of retrofits which should end up being a larger segment than new-builds,” added Bashir Lebada, CEO, OCI Methanol/HyFuels. “E-methanol will also be a new product for us and, with the RFNBO mandates in the coming years, will quickly become the blendstock of choice with gasoline to ensure compliance. We are also very excited to announce the expansion of our 13-year partnership with the city of Beaumont. This landfill will bolster our product portfolio with additional green fuels right in our backyard and add to our existing supply portfolio of RNG.”

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

Methanex to switch production from Atlas to Titan

Methanex says that it plans to shut down one of its methanol plants on Trinidad and restart another one that has been idle. Methanex has signed a two-year natural gas agreement with the National Gas Company (NGC) of Trinidad and Tobago to supply its currently idled Titan methanol plant, which has the capacity to produce 875,000 t/a of methanol. With the new gas agreement, Methanex plans to restart the Titan plant in about a year from now, in September 2024. However, due to challenges in securing natural gas in the region, Methanex plans to simultaneously shut down the 1.0 million t/a Atlas plant, in which Methanex has a controlling interest (63%). Methanex says that a 20-year natural gas supply agreement for the Atlas plant expires in September 2024.

“The two-year term of the Titan contract offered by the NGC reflects the challenging near-term gas supply and demand situation in the country,” Methanex CEO Rich Sumner said in a news release. “Our decision to restart Titan and cease operations at Atlas was based on economic considerations, including significantly lower capital requirements at Titan compared to Atlas. The new gas price and lower production volume in Trinidad will reduce annual adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow capability, starting in 2025 and compared to 2023, by approximately $80 million and $40 million, respectively, across a range of methanol prices.”

Sumner said the company would continue to work with the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the NGC to secure natural gas supplies to supply its methanol plants.

SAUDI ARABIA

Contract awarded for green methanol/MTG plant

thyssenkrupp Uhde has been awarded a contract by ENOWA, the energy and water company of the NEOM new technology-based city development on the Red Sea of Saudi Arabia. Uhde’s contract is for engineering services and the supply, design and procurement of equipment for a new CO2-to-methanol and methanol-to-gasoline demonstration plant at ENOWA’s Hydrogen Innovation and Development Center (HIDC) in Saudi Arabia. The plant is a joint development of ENOWA and Aramco and will use the uhde® green methanol process and ExxonMobil’s fluidised bed methanol-to-gasoline process. The plant will produce 12 t/d of methanol and 35 bbl/d of gasoline.

Dr. Cord Landsmann, CEO thyssenkrupp Uhde GmbH said: “We are very proud that NEOM has selected thyssenkrupp Uhde to supply the plant due to its advanced uhde® green methanol process and its expertise. This is clearly another proof of concept for our technology and knowledge being an enabler for the green transformation.”

Roland Kaeppner, managing director of Hydrogen and Green Fuels at ENOWA added: “We value the technology cooperation with thyssenkrupp Uhde and their wealth of expertise and technologies in driving a future green fuels economy. The plant will be a key part of our Hydrogen Innovation and Development Center and produce e-methanol and e-gasoline by end of 2025, which will be used for various applications, such as motorsports, off-grid energy and for hydrogen transportation.”

SAUDI ARABIA

Aramco to develop e-fuel demonstration plant

Aramco has signed a joint development agreement with ENOWA the energy and water company of the NEOM new city development. The companies will establish a green fuel demonstration plant at ENOWA’s Hydrogen Innovation and Development Centre, and aims to demonstrate technical feasibility and commercial viability by producing 35 bbl/d of low-carbon, synthetic gasoline from renewable hydrogen and captured carbon dioxide (CO2 ). The fuel has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by over 70% on a life cycle basis compared to conventional fuels. Once complete, the integrated facility will generate 12 t/d of synthetic methanol per day from green hydrogen and CO2 , using proprietary technologies developed by thyssenkrupp Uhde. The synthetic methanol will then be converted into low-carbon gasoline using ExxonMobil’s fluidised bed methanol to gasoline technology. The Centre will also produce green hydrogen using an on-site 20MW electrolyser powered by renewable energy sources. Through a joint development agreement, NEOM will oversee the construction of the plant, while Aramco and ENOWA will jointly oversee operations and investment in relevant research programs.

Ahmad O. Al Khowaiter, Aramco Executive Vice President of Technology & Innovation, said: “Synthetic fuels can play an important role to accelerate the decarbonization of the global vehicle fleet. We are excited to be working alongside our partners to demonstrate a potential path towards realising this vision.”

FRANCE

New green methanol plant

Following the successful completion of a two year feasibility study, Elyse Energy is beginning work on the construction of a new green methanol production plant, called eM-Rhône, at Les Roches-Roussillon chemical platform in the Isère department. The project, being developed with assistance from the European Innovation Fund, is expected to cost around e700 million, and will have a capacity of nearly 150,000 t/a of renewable methanol, which will allow the complex to substitute imported methanol with local production, while avoiding the emission of 200,000 t/a of CO2 equivalent. The project will use CO2 captured in Lafarge’s plant in Le Teil, and forms part of the partnership initiated in 2022 between Lafarge France and Elyse Energy. Construction is scheduled to start in 2025, with industrial commissioning in early 2028. Hydrogen will be produced by water electrolysis using an electrolyser located on the platform and connected to the electricity transmission network (RTE) at the Gampaloup substation, powered by low-carbon electricity. Carbon dioxide will be captured and used at the OSIRIS site, as well as at the Lafarge plant in Le Teil, Ardèche, a hundred kilometres further south, where liquid CO2 will be transported by train to the platform.

JAPAN

Partnership for synthetic natural gas

Tree Energy Solutions (TES), a global green energy company and Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. (Tokyo Gas), a leading Japanese gas utility company, are pleased to announce that they have signed an agreement to explore and develop “e-Natural Gas” (e-NG) – synthetic natural gas based on green hydrogen – as part of efforts to foster the global energy transition and the roll out of e-NG. TES and Tokyo Gas say that they will work together to raise awareness of e-NG globally, encourage the institutional design of an international CO2 emissions counting system for e-NG and other fuels that contribute to carbon neutrality, and to establish an international supply chain for e-NG. In Japan, natural gas currently accounts for 60% of Japan’s total energy demand, and e-NG is seen as a potentially promising option for its decarbonisation. It can use existing city gas infrastructure such as LNG receiving terminals, pipelines, and consumption equipment without modification, for a smoother transition to carbon neutrality and additional social cost containment.

Kentaro Kimoto, Corporate Executive Officer, Vice President and CTO of Tokyo Gas, said: “We are very pleased to conclude this partnership agreement with TES. TES has been promoting studies on the establishment of an e-methane (e-NG) supply chain vigorously and worldwide, and we are extremely encouraged to have TES as a partner as we promote and expand e-methane(e-NG) globally in the future. Based on this collaboration, we will lead to raise global awareness of e-methane(e-NG) and establish an international framework to achieve carbon neutrality.”

SPAIN

Contract for green hydrogen plant

thyssenkrupp Uhde has been engaged by Hive Energy Limited to deliver a pre-front end engineering and design (FEED) study to support the development of Hive’s first green hydrogen/ammonia production plant in Spain. The pre-FEED was awarded following a comprehensive techno-economic study for the power-to-ammonia facility, which was performed in 2022 using thyssenkrupp Uhde’s proprietary RHAMFS® methodology.

The key goal of the pre-FEED is to enhance the technical concept and commence key engineering activities for the plant. thyssenkrupp Uhde will base the pre-FEED on its dynamic uhde® ammonia synthesis technology, which has been specifically developed to tackle the unique challenges of dynamic ammonia production, and will also provide integration engineering for the process facility. The pre-FEED will allow Hive Energy to advance through the subsequent commercial and regulatory phases of the project development.

Hive Energy, headquartered in the UK, was founded in 2010 by Giles Redpath to participate in the significant solar PV expansion across England. The company now operates from over 20 countries globally, and develops and operates large-scale renewable energy projects, including the UK’s largest solar park, and has plans to develop 28 GW of renewable energy projects, including one of the world’s largest green ammonia plants in South Africa.