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Argus Media: Alternatives may drive methanol market growth

Driven by low-carbon policies and regulations, the transportation sector — especially the marine fuels industry — could be a source of heightened demand, according to Argus.

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The growth of sustainable alternatives to traditional methanol production sources likely will shape the market over the next several years, industry leaders said this week at the Argus Methanol Forum.

20 September 

Driven by low-carbon policies and regulations, the transportation sector — especially the marine fuels industry — could be a source of heightened demand.

"The aim is to be net zero by 2050 but [those solutions are] expensive today and one of the main challenges to build e-methanol or bio-methanol plants is a huge queue for these pieces of equipment that aren't available," Anita Gajadhar, executive director for Swiss-based methanol producer Proman, said.

Bio-based and e-methanol plants of commercial scale, like Proman's natural gas-fed 1.9 million metric tonne/yr M5000 plant in Trinidad and Tobago, are not ready today.

"But that's not to say 10 years from now they won't be there," Gajadhar added.

Smaller projects are popping up. Dutch fuels and gas supplier OCI Global announced plans last week to double the green methanol capacity at its Beaumont, Texas, facility to 400,000 t/yr and will add e-methanol to production for the first time. Production will use feedstocks such as renewable natural gas (RNG), green hydrogen and biogas.

The globally oversupplied methanol market will not get any major supply additions starting in 2024 until 2027. But that oversupply will not last long, Gajadhar said.

Global demand has slowed this year, driven by stagnate economic growth and higher interest rates, according to industry observers.

As much as half of methanol demand is tied to GDP growth, with total methanol demand estimates at 88.9mn t globally in 2023. This is essentially flat from 2022, but up from 88.3m t in 2021 and 87.7mn t in 2020, Dave McCaskill, vice-president of methanol and derivatives for Argus Media's consulting service, said.

Demand is not expected to rebound to 2019 levels of 89.6mn t until 2024 or 2025, he added.

The period of oversupply combined with lackluster demand places methanol in a transition period, Gajadhar said, which opens the door for sustainable feedstock alternatives to shape market growth.

Danish container shipping giant Maersk and French marine logistics company CMA-CGM announced earlier this week a partnership to drive decarbonization in shipping. The partnership seeks to develop fuel and operations standards for bunkering with alternative fuels. The companies will develop net-zero solutions, including new technology and alternative fuels.

Maersk has previously ordered dual-fuel methanol-powered vessels and CMA-CGM LNG-propelled vessels.

The demand for alternative feedstock-derived fuels is there, but the ability to scale-up such production lags. Certified lower-carbon methanol produced using carbon capture and sequestration — also known as blue methanol— can ramp up much more quickly, according to Gajadhar.

By Steven McGinn

Photo credit and source: Argus Media
Published: 22 September, 2023

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Alternative Fuels

DNV paper outlines bunkering of alternative marine fuels for boxships

Third edition of its paper series focuses on LNG, methanol and ammonia as alternative bunker fuel options for containerships; explores bunkering aspects for LNG and methanol.

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DNV paper outlines bunkering of alternative marine fuels for boxships

Classification society DNV recently released the third edition of its paper series Alternative fuels for containerships, focused on LNG, methanol and ammonia as alternative bunker fuel options for containerships.

In its updated paper series, DNV examined the different alternative marine fuel options and provided an overview of the most important technical and commercial considerations for the containership sector.

It explored the bunkering technology for LNG, bunkering infrastructure for methanol, and availability and infrastructure of ammonia. 

Building on the foundation laid in the second edition, which focused on the most important aspects of methanol as a fuel, this latest third edition delves deeper  – exploring the technical intricacies and commercial considerations associated with adopting methanol as an alternative fuel for containerships.

Furthermore, it provides an overview of crucial aspects related to ammonia and discusses its potential as an alternative fuel for containerships.

Amongst others, the new edition of the paper looks at the following aspects:

  • Technical design considerations for methanol
  • Commercial implications of adopting methanol as an alternative fuel
  • Ammonia's potential as an alternative fuel
  • Availability, infrastructure and ship fuel technology for ammonia
  • Major updates based on the latest IMO GHG strategy decisions at the MEPC 80 meeting

Note: The third edition of DNV’s full paper titled Alternative Fuels for Containerships can be found here.

Related: DNV paper outlines bunkering infrastructure of alternative fuels for boxships

Photo credit: DNV
Published: 29 November, 2023

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Engine

MAN ES announces MAN 175D methanol dual-fuel engine will be available by 2026

Dual-fuel version of MAN 175D high-speed engine, capable of operating on methanol, will be available by the end of 2026; will be available both as newbuild and retrofit variants.

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MAN ES announces MAN 175D methanol dual-fuel engine will be available by 2026

MAN Energy Solutions on Monday (27 November) announced that a dual-fuel version of its MAN 175D high-speed engine, capable of operating on methanol, will be available by the end of 2026. 

The new variant, designated MAN 175DF-M, will be available both as newbuild and retrofit variants.

MAN Energy Solutions states that the 175DF-M will be optimised for diesel-mechanical and diesel-electric propulsion to achieve the largest methanol share and best efficiency for various applications and load profiles. In fact, the engine has already been awarded the ‘fuel ready’ certificate by DNV, guaranteeing the introduction of this dual-fuel methanol technology.

“The 175D engine is MAN Energy Solutions’ latest addition to the high-speed maritime sector and is, as such, one of the pillars of its efforts to develop a methanol-ready engine portfolio as the demand for such technology has rapidly been increasing of late,” the firm said in a statement.

With its success in achieving series-approval for its two-stroke engines, MAN Energy Solutions said it has used this experience to develop an optimised solution for its four-stroke engines, including successful single-cylinder testing. As such, the results of these efforts will fuel the upcoming development and validation of the dual-fuel PFI (Port Fuel Injection) technology for its methanol-ready 175D engine.

Florian Keiler, Head of High Speed, MAN Energy Solutions, said: “The MAN 175D has proven to be very competitive in terms of sustainability and efficiency with the lowest fuel consumption, lowest lube-oil consumption and longest overhaul times in its class, minimising its environmental footprint. In terms of future fuels, the next logical step, apart from being able to run on 100% bio-fuels, is to ensure methanol combustion.”

“Based on numerous exchanges with customers, we came to the conclusion that the dual-fuel principle, reliability, efficiency, a high methanol share, competitive life-cycle costs and maximum achievable output were key requirements for the 175DF-M’s development. Therefore, after conscientious investigation and consideration, we settled upon the PFI combustion technology as the most favourable. Fundamental combustion development will start in 2024, leading up to a first field-test of the methanol engine in 2026. The MAN 175DF-M engine will subsequently be ready for sales release at the end of 2026.”

MAN Energy Solutions believes that PFI is the most advanced technology currently available. Its development targets a highest methanol share over a wide power range while achieving the highest cylinder output in its high-speed engine class. In particular, optimisation for diesel-electric multi-engine plants will allow operation of the engines at an optimal load point achieving the highest methanol share. As result, when using biofuels, the MAN 175DF-M’s carbon footprint will be reduced to zero while retaining full fuel-flexibility for operation anywhere in the world.

Photo credit: MAN Energy Solutions
Published: 28 November, 2023

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Methanol

Maersk and China-based Goldwind sign landmark green methanol bunker fuel offtake deal

Long-term agreement for annual volumes of 500KT will enable low carbon operations for the first 12 large methanol-enabled Maersk vessels on order; first volumes expected in 2026.

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Maersk and China-based Goldwind sign landmark green methanol bunker fuel offtake deal

A.P. Moller - Maersk on Wednesday (22 November) said it signed a deal with Chinese clean energy firm Goldwind, marking the first large scale green methanol offtake agreement for the global shipping industry.

The commercially viable long-term offtake agreement for annual volumes of 500KT will enable low carbon operations for the first 12 large methanol-enabled Maersk vessels on order. The first volumes are expected in 2026.

Rabab Raafat Boulos, Chief Infrastructure Officer at A.P. Moller - Maersk, said: “This deal is a milestone for Maersk as it enables us to significantly reduce our emissions footprint in this decade and stay aligned with the 1.5-degree Celsius trajectory as set out in the Paris Agreement, ensuring continued supply of low carbon shipping services to our customers in the second half of this decade.”

“We are encouraged by the agreement because its scale and price confirm our view that green methanol currently is the most viable low-emission solution for ocean shipping that can make a significant impact in this decade. The deal is a testament to the momentum and vast efforts we see among ambitious developers driving projects forward across geographies, however, we still have a long way to go in ensuring a global green fuels market that can enable the decarbonisation of global shipping.”

A.P. Moller - Maersk aims to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 across its business. The deal significantly de-risks the initial stages of Maersk’s net-zero journey and supports expectations for a competitive green methanol market towards 2030. The record-high volumes can annually propel more than half the methanol-enabled capacity Maersk currently has on order.

Wu Gang, Chairman, Goldwind, said: “Goldwind respects Maersk as a pioneer in the field of maritime green fuel and we are excited to jointly promote the green transition with Maersk.”

“With this project, Goldwind will continue to explore the innovative application of new technologies, pursue the organic combination of green electricity and green fuel production, and optimise the production process of green methanol.”

“Goldwind is committed to collaborating with companies involved in the green methanol industry, with the aim to make green methanol one of the most important and economically feasible clean maritime fuels in the future.”

The volumes combine a mix of green bio-methanol and e-methanol, all produced utilising wind energy at a new production facility in Hinggan League, Northeast China, around 1,000km northeast of Beijing. 

Production is expected to begin in 2026. Following this signed offtake agreement, Goldwind expects to confirm a final investment decision for the facility by the end of the year.

Maersk will take delivery of its first large ocean-going methanol-enabled vessel (16,000 TEU) in the first quarter of 2024 and is working on sourcing solutions with a broad range of global partners for the entire vessel series being delivered in 2024 to 2025.

Photo credit: A.P. Moller - Maersk
Published: 23 November, 2023

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