Duo targets future shipping demand in plans to develop green methanol plants in Australia

Spanish renewable energy firm Iberdrola and Australian hydrogen firm ABEL Energy seek to produce 200,000 mt/year of green methanol and eventually scale that to 300,000 mt/year.

PHOTO: The tugboat Korimul in a port operation in the Port of Burnie in Tasmania. TasPorts

They seek to develop a green hydrogen and methanol production facility in Bell Bay, Tasmania in Australia. The project is called the "Bell Bay Powerfuels Project", and they will target fuel demand from shipping.

Tasmania has ample supply of hydro and wind sources to power electrolysers to produce green hydrogen, ABEL Energy’s co-founder and chief executive Michael van Baarle said.

Green hydrogen is a key component in synthetic green methanol production, in which the hydrogen is reacted with carbon dioxide.

The Bell Bay Powerfuels Project will help Australian companies operating in sectors that have historically struggled to cut emissions due to technical and economical limitations, Iberdrola Australia’s chief executive and managing director Ross Rolfe said.

A feasibility study into the project was completed last year with partial funding of AUD 555,000 ($373,000) from the Tasmanian government.

They anticipate that the plant will be operational by 2026.

By Nithin Chandran

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