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Nitrogen+Syngas 396 Jul-Aug 2025

21 July 2025

Plans for biogenic methanol plant

Three European energy companies are planning to develop a green methanol plant in Spain that will capture around 380,000 t/a of biogenic carbon dioxide, which will be used to produce 200,000 t/a of methanol. Spanish renewable energy firm Magnon will oversee the carbon capture portion of the project, while partners Power2X and ErasmoPower2X will handle the hydrogen supply. Part of this will see ErasmoPower2X supplying green hydrogen from its facilities in nearby Saceruela. The project will be located at Magnon’s industrial complex in Puertollano, Ciudad Real, where the carbon capture technology will be fitted into its existing biomass plant.

“This initiative … will decarbonise various Spanish industries [such as] steel, automotive, refineries, and aviation,” said Niels van Buuren, EVP of Business Development at Power2X.

Spain has been scaling up its green hydrogen production capacity in recent years, positioning itself as a southern European hub for renewable hydrogen and its derivatives. The country has more than 20 low carbon methanol or power-to-liquid fuel projects at various stages of development, many of them clustered around industrial regions like Andalusia and Castilla-La Mancha. This momentum reflects broader European decarbonisation goals, including the latest Renewable Energy Directive (RED III), which sets binding targets for renewable fuels of non-biological origin in transport and industry. Additional frameworks such as the EU Hydrogen Strategy and the RePowerEU plan further incentivise member states to support synthetic fuel production as part of the bloc’s push to phase out fossil fuels.

Latest in Europe

Aurubis completes major maintenance at Pirdop plant

Aurubis says that it has successfully completed scheduled maintenance at its Pirdop plant on time. The two-month operation marked the largest planned maintenance shutdown at the site in the past 30 years. With an investment of €115 million, Aurubis says the work ensures the long-term reliability and performance of the facility. Key upgrades included a full overhaul of the flash smelter, replacement of two electrostatic precipitators, and a major modernisation of the sulphuric acid production line. This modernisation involved installing a new converter and replacing six heat exchangers.

Lyten acquires Northvolt

Lyten, a global leader in lithium-sulphur batteries has entered into a binding agreement to acquire Northvolt’s assets in Sweden and Germany. The acquisition includes Northvolt Ett and, Northvolt Labs in Sweden and Northvolt Drei in Germany. Additionally, Lyten is acquiring all remaining Northvolt intellectual property. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. In total, Lyten’s acquisition includes assets valued at approximately $5 billion, including 16 GWh of existing battery manufacturing capacity, more than 15 GWh of capacity under construction, the infrastructure and plans to scale to more than 100 GWh, and the largest and most advanced battery R&D centre in Europe.

Is the world ready for CBAM?

At the end of this year, the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will move from its transitional phase into its ‘definitive’ phase, whereby the carbon costs of goods entering the EU will need to be priced in. CBAM requires suppliers to calculate the carbon emissions of their fertilizer (and other, e.g. steel) products, including indirect emissions, for example from electricity consumed in the process, and emissions of precursor or raw materials. They will then need to purchase CBAM certificates to cover embedded emissions above the established free allowance benchmark rates determined by the European Commission: 1.57 tonnes CO2e/tonne ammonia and 0.23 tCO2e/t nitric acid.

EIB loan agreed for Villeta project

ATOME says that the European Investment Bank (EIB), the lending arm of the European Union, has approved financing in-principle of up to $135 million for the company’s flagship Villeta Project. EIB is one of ATOME’s senior debt providers for Villeta and the announcement follows the Green Climate Fund approval earlier this month. Details of the financing will be finalised in early course, following closing of the debt package with the consortium of leading international development finance institutions. Based on the progress with financing, ATOME is projecting a final investment decision by the end of September 2025.

thyssenkrupp completes acquisition of GHS technologies

thyssenkrupp nucera says that it has successfully completed the acquisition of key technology assets from Danish company Green Hydrogen Systems (GHS), as announced in June. The transaction was finalised following receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals and the consent of the court-appointed insolvency administrator. The asset deal includes intellectual property as well as a test facility with a full-size prototype in Skive, Denmark.