Category: Sustainability/Environment

NextChem subsidiary MyRechemical has been selected by Mana Group and Equinor to conduct a feasibility study for a waste-to-methanol plant at Norway's Mongstad refinery. The project will use NX Circular™ technology to convert urban and industrial waste into chemical grade syngas which will be further processed to produce low-carbon methanol. The facility is expected to produce circular methanol with a low carbon footprint, eligible under the EU Renewable Energy Directive criteria. This methanol could initially replace marine bunker fuel to meet the targets of the FuelEU Maritime regulation, exempting final users from buying ETS credits and paying penalties, and potentially later be used as feedstock for methanol-to-jet facilities to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) compliant with FuelEU Aviation regulation.

ClassNK has added Japan's first hydrogen-fuelled tug Ten-Oh to its register, built by Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. This vessel was developed and built under the 'Nippon Foundation Zero Emission Ships Project', a grant program by The Nippon Foundation aimed at developing ships with zero CO2 emissions. Based on discussions among the parties involved during the planning stage of the vessel, ClassNK reviewed the safety requirements and countermeasures for hydrogen-fuelled ships by applying Part GF of its 'Rules and Guidance for the Survey and Construction of Steel Ships' etc. These reviews focused on issues such as preventing explosions caused by the high ignitability of hydrogen and mitigating the potential impacts of hydrogen fuel leakage on crew members and the environment.

NEXTCHEM (MAIRE), Mana and Equinor enter strategic partnership to explore the potential development of large-scale waste-to-methanol project

Hy2gen receives zoning plan approval for the Iverson renewable ammonia plant - the plant is expected to reduce around 3 million tons of CO2 emissions in its first ten years.

Jilin Electric Power says that it has commissioned one of the world’s largest green hydrogen and ammonia plants in Jilin Province. Jilin says that this is the world’s largest operating green ammonia plant, with a capacity of up to 32,000 t/a of green hydrogen and 180,000 t/a of green ammonia; the largest combined PEM and alkaline electrolyser system, combining 196 MW of alkaline electrolysis and 52 MW of PEM electrolysis, respectively; and the world’s largest block of solid-state hydrogen storage - 48,000 Nm3. The plant is fed by 800 MW of installed renewable power. The green ammonia is EU-certified under low-carbon fuel standards, and offtake agreements are in place with companies located in Europe, Japan and South Korea.

Saudi power group ACWA Power has awarded a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract to a consortium of Spanish engineering firm Tecnicas Reunidas and Sinopec Guangzhou Engineering for the development of a large green hydrogen and ammonia project in Yanbu. The project would include 4 GW of electrolysis capacity, enabling the production of 400,000 t/a of green hydrogen, which will then be converted into green ammonia for export. The plant’s scope also includes water desalination infrastructure and an export terminal to support global distribution, though renewable generation assets are excluded from the current design phase.

thyssenkrupp Uhde has completed the pre-FEED (Front-End Engineering Design) phase for the Portland Renewable Fuels Project in collaboration with HAMR Energy. The project, located in Victoria, Australia, will use biomass residues and renewable electricity to produce green methanol that can be used as a low carbon liquid fuel to power shipping and aviation.

Linde has received a e4.3 million ($4.7 million) funding commitment to build a new 5MW alkaline electrolysis plant in Leuna, Saxony-Anhalt, adding to the region’s growing hydrogen infrastructure. The project, which complements Linde’s existing 24 MW facility, is scheduled for commissioning by the end of 2026 and is expected to produce 450 t/a of green hydrogen for local industrial customers via pipeline distribution. The funding was formally awarded on August 13 by Saxony-Anhalt’s Economics Minister Prof. Dr. Armin Willingmann, backed by the state’s “Future Energy” programme and the EU’s European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The Deendayal Port Authority (DPA), Kandla, has issued a tender for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build India’s first port-based bio-methanol plant. The 3,500 t/a plant will use oxy-steam gasification technology to convert biomass into bio-methanol. The scope covers design, engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and product certification, with bidders required to outline plant life, warranties, capital expenditure, and operating costs. The move follows DPA’s earlier call in May for turnkey proposals for a larger integrated plant of over 15,000 t/a, and its February 2025 agreement with Bapu’s Shipping Jamnagar Pvt. Ltd. to develop India’s first bio-methanol bunkering facility, including a dedicated bunker barge, at Kandla Port.

The carbon dioxide dehydration and compression unit at CF's production complex at Donaldsonville, Louisiana, is ready to start up.