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Africa focus
Ports hold the key to providing the locations, the facilities and in some cases ‘‘ the carbon sources that could be used to create a sustainable supply of marine fuel
The model applies regardless of the location or application. Denmark’s tiny Hanstholm Harbor plans to combine solar and wind energy plants with a Power-to-X facility for the production of 130,000 m2 of e-methanol and hydrogen in the port’s hinterland.
Plans for the proposed plant include a production capability of 530,000 metric tonnes of methanol annually, using natural gas as a feedstock with carbon capture, reducing CO2 emissions by more than 90% compared to conventional methanol plants.
Danish renewable energy developer European Energy has signed with the Port of Aalborg to option a 25-hectare site as the location for a new 120 MW electrolysis and associated e-methanol plant. The plant will produce around 75,000 metric tonnes of e-methanol per year and will be approximately twice the size of the plant European Energy is currently in the process of establishing in Aabenraa in Southern Denmark.
Renewable energy
Some of Europe’s most strategic ports have identified the opportunity of creating methanol from renewable electricity or waste sources.
Gothenburg Port Authority has published Methanol operating regulations for ship-to-ship bunkering and has ambitions to create a value chain that would make it the primary bunkering hub for renewable methanol in Northern Europe.
In parallel to the EU’s clean fuel strategy, UK port operator Global Energy Group has partnered with Swiss energy company Proman to develop a renewable power to methanol plant in Scotland’s Port of Nigg. The so-called Cromarty Clean Fuels Project will utilise local industrial sources of captured carbon dioxide and harness excess wind power to produce green methanol.
The Port of Antwerp-Bruges has joined a consortium including the investment company of the Flemish Government to produce sustainable methanol, with a demonstration plant scheduled to start this year and produce 8,000 tonnes of sustainable methanol annually.
Also in Belgium, North-C-Hydrogen is the first large scale demonstrator project of North-CCU-Hub, consisting of a 63 MW electrolyser plant drawing renewable energy from offshore wind to create green hydrogen and a broad range of e-molecules including Methanol.
The Port of Rotterdam and GIDARA Energy have joined forces to create an advanced biofuels facility which will convert non-recyclable waste into sustainable methanol, using a site provided by the port. Advanced Methanol Rotterdam will achieve a reduction of 350,000 tons of GHG emissions per year, producing approximately 90,000 tonnes of renewable methanol yearly by converting 180,000 tonnes of local non-recyclable waste that is currently being incinerated.
GIDARA’s Advanced Methanol Amsterdam is located in the Port of Amsterdam’s Biopark, a development location for producers of renewable fuels. The facility will produce an average of 87,500 tons of advanced methanol per year by converting non-recyclable waste equivalent to that of 290,000 households yearly, which otherwise could be landfilled or incinerated.
Many of these projects include member companies of the Methanol Institute, which serves as the trade association for the global methanol industry. Traditional methanol producers and new market players are partnering with ports to expand the availability of low carbon and net carbon neutral methanol for the maritime industry.
These and other projects form the ends of a chain that will ultimately span the world’s shipping lanes. Applying the Green Corridor concept for these new fuels will enable owners to make fleet renewal decisions based on fuel availability. It allows ports to plan for future investments and enables policymakers to send clear signals to the market. Ports are indispensable to shipping – and will play a pivotal role in its decarbonisation.
8 The Port of
Antwerp-Bruges has joined a consortium to produce sustainable methanol
8 Gregory Dolan,
chief executive offi cer, The Methanol Institute
Photo: The Methanol Institute
