Chinese to build plant to produce green methanol for bunkering

Chinese green energy firm Guangdong Liquid Sunshine will build a 75,000 mt/year biomethanol plant in Guangxi Province.

IMAGE: Methanol demand is set to grow. Among shipping companies investing in methanol propulsion, China's COSCO Shipping has retrofitted four container ships with methanol dual-fuel engines. COSCO Shipping

Construction of the plant is expected to begin this year, but the company has not yet said when it will be operational.

The plant will initially produce 75,000 mt/year of biomethanol from biomass, and the full output is expected to be earmarked for bunkering.

“The project is among the first wave of commercial projects in the wider industry designed to support early adopters decarbonising maritime fuel,” said Johnson Matthey, a company that will supply the technology for the plant to convert biogas into biomethanol.

In a second phase, Guangdong Liquid Sunshine plans to capture CO2 from the biomethanol production process and combine this CO2 with green hydrogen to produce e-methanol at the same site.

Johnson Matthey will also provide the technology to integrate biomethanol with e-methanol production.

The addition would increase green methanol output without requiring additional biomass feedstock, and the resulting fuel could "help meet e-fuel mandates, including those in Europe," Johnson Matthey said.

The second phase remains subject to regulatory approvals.

By Konica Bhatt

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