Methanol

OCI Global to double green methanol capacity in US to meet demand from industries

Firm will increase capacity to 400,000 mt per year in response to growing demand for green methanol from numerous high emissions industries, including road transport, shipping and industrial.

Published

3 months ago

September 15, 2023

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Green methanol producer OCI Global (OCI) on Wednesday (13 September) announced plans to double its green methanol production capacity to approximately 400,000 metric tonnes (mt) per year 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 (RNG) exceeding 15,000 mmbtu per day – as well as securing the waste and development rights from the City of Beaumont.

This is OCI’s first upstream RNG production facility and production is slated to start in Q1 2025. As well as reducing carbon dioxide emissions, 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.

A critical manufacturing building block, green methanol can effectively decarbonize traditionally hard-to-abate sectors by significantly reducing the carbon footprint and emissions across a range of key value chains to power cleaner industries.

OCI currently has capacity to produce up to 200 thousand metric tons of green methanol. Offtakers include the road fuels market, where it is used as a fuel-blend to reduce emissions from petrol; as a building block in a range of industrial applications; and most recently, as a fuel for shipping.

OCI has projected growth in the green methanol market of incremental demand of more than 6 million tonnes by 2028, due to the adoption of green methanol as a shipping fuel, based on the 225 dual-fuelled methanol vessels now on order.

This summer, the first ever green methanol container vessel, owned by AP Moller Maersk, was fueled with OCI HyFuels green methanol on its maiden voyage from Korea to Copenhagen. The company also announced last month a new agreement with Xpress Feeder Lines to supply their green methanol ships at the Port of Rotterdam from 2025.

Ahmed El-Hoshy, CEO, OCI Global, said: “Today’s announcement cements OCI’s position as the leading green methanol producer globally. It also represents another milestone in our decarbonization journey as a business, and our commitment to driving the energy transition.

“It’s positive that we are starting to see industry make that commitment too. 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.”

Bashir Lebada, CEO, OCI Methanol/HyFuels, said: “We continue to see more and more realisation that methanol is the transportation sector’s most viable solution and the easiest way to transport and use renewable hydrogen today.”

“It is a solution that is available now and our focus is on continuing to scale technologies whether through our projects or our supply partners, to ensure that our capacities continue to grow alongside demand. 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.

“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.”

Roy West, Mayor of Beaumont, said: “We’re pleased to partner with OCI on this exciting project, which further develops our long-term relationship with OCI as an industrial employer in Beaumont. This joint project will create societal and environmental benefits, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and reduction in other air emissions resulting from landfill operations.”

“This agreement is considered a win-win agreement for the city and OCI, as it allows the City to generate an additional revenue stream from its landfill operations while OCI will be able to use the renewable natural gas for its business.”

Photo credit: OCI Global
Published: 15 September, 2023

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Marine Fuels 360: Methanol presents easiest path towards maritime decarbonisation, says DNV

Captain Singh was confident the bunkering infrastructure in Singapore will be ready to welcome methanol-fuelled vessels due to the coordinated efforts between various agencies.

Published

6 hours ago

December 6, 2023

Admin

The use of methanol as a bunker fuel presents the least path of resistance towards maritime decarbonisation, believes the Principal Consultant, Head, Research and Development, Maritime Advisory, SE Asia, Pacific, and India at classification society DNV.

Captain Satinder Singh Virdi was speaking amongst panellists in the Methanol Panel session at Marine Fuels 360 on Tuesday (28 November) when he offered an opinion about reasons behind the increasing awareness of methanol as a marine fuel.

“The ease of adopting methanol is perhaps one of the reasons. The product exists as a liquid at ambient temperature and has been carried on vessels for the last 80 years, so it is not something new,” he stated.

“What is new is we're going to use methanol as a bunker fuel. Ease of adoption, ESG compliance, as well as getting closer to decarbonisation goals are the drivers for shipowners adopting methanol.”

According to Captain Singh, the trend for methanol-fuelled newbuildings have continued in October where DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight (AFI) platform recorded 230 vessels on order where 156 comprises of containerships.

“The trend started when Maersk increased their newbuild order of methanol-fuelled vessels; before that it was mostly LNG as an alternate fuel,” he said.

Captain Singh was confident the bunkering infrastructure in Singapore will be ready to welcome methanol-fuelled vessels due to the coordinated efforts between the Singapore Shipping Association, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, and other organisations.

“We are all working together to support Singapore’s future maritime operations. Singapore is an international maritime centre, and we want to establish ourselves as the leading maritime city,” he explained.

“I would call this a cohesive action by all relevant partners, such as shipowners, charterers, classification societies, ship managers, bunker testing firms, mass flow meter manufacturers, bunkering companies, and more.

“It is important for Singapore to be seen as a fair supporter of bunkering in terms of reliability and reputation, and if things go wrong actions are taken very strictly to ensure transparency and quality. So, in that way I am satisfied to say that ‘yes’ we have what it takes to make methanol bunkering happen.”

Photo credit: Informa
Published: 6 November 2023

Alternative Fuels

CENIT and Hinicio to explore feasibility of zero-carbon bunkers in Colombia

Mission is to explore the feasibility of producing, storing, supplying, and exporting zero-carbon bunker fuels at strategic port locations in Colombia, says centre.

Published

7 hours ago

December 6, 2023

Admin

The Centre for Innovation in Transport (CENIT) on Tuesday (5 December) said it was teaming up with Hinicio, a strategy consulting firm focused on sustainable energy and mobility, for a project funded by The World Bank in Colombia.

CENIT said their mission was to explore the feasibility of producing, storing, supplying, and exporting zero-carbon bunker fuels at strategic port locations in Colombia.

“The shipping industry is poised to become a major demand centre for zero-carbon fuels, particularly green hydrogen-based options like green ammonia and green methanol,” CENIT said in a social media post.

“And it will play a pivotal role in transporting these zero-carbon fuels from emerging production hubs in Latin America to high-demand centres in Europe and East Asia.”

“This project takes us a step closer to decarbonising ports and fostering a sustainable future for maritime transportation.”

Photo credit: Luis Desiro on Unsplash
Published: 6 December, 2023

Methanol

Suez Canal and Scatec ink MoU for green methanol bunkering in East Port Said

Deal aims to issue a licence to Scatec to conduct green fuel bunkering operations in East Port Said and will include investments in production capacity of 100,000 tonnes of green methanol per year by 2027.

Published

1 day ago

December 5, 2023

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Suez Canal and Scatec inks MoU for green methanol bunkering in East Port Said

The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) Authority on Sunday (3 December) said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Norwegian renewable energy company Scatec for green methanol bunkering in East Port Said, Egypt.

The MoU was signed at the sidelines of the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28).

The project will cost USD 1.1billion and will include investments in clean energy generation, with a production capacity of up to 100,000 tonnes of green methanol per year by 2027.

It will use 190 megawatts of electrolyzer capacity, powered by 317 megawatts of wind energy and 140 megawatts of solar energy.

The deal also aims to issue a licence to Scatec to conduct green fuel bunkering operations in East Port Said.

Waleid Gamal El-Dien, chairman of SCZONE, said: “The signing of a new MoU with Scatec represents an extension of the partnership that began with the company’s first project in SCZONE, which was inaugurated by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on the sidelines of COP27 in November 2022, and recently succeeded in exporting the world’s first shipment of green ammonia.”

“SCZONE’s regional pioneering in the green bunkering field came as a result of SCZONE’s ports readiness to provide this service, in addition to the prompt move towards green fuel production in cooperation with major international companies.”

“This is to maximise the benefit of integrated industrial zones equipped with world-class infrastructure, in addition to the investment incentives and supportive work environment that SCZONE provides to its success partners.”

“East Port Said is the destination of the green bunkering project due to its location northern Suez Canal, and its integration with the ports of East Port Said and West Port Said, and therefore it is located near the ship’s waiting areas.”

“We emphasise that green bunkering is not a main target in itself, but an imperative global requirement, especially since shipping is responsible for 10% of the world’s carbon emissions, so the use of green fuels in maritime transport will significantly affect the reduction of carbon emissions.”

Photo credit: SCZone
Published: 5 December, 2023