Uniper wants to supply e-methanol for shipping

Swedish e-fuel company Liquid Wind will build and develop a 100,000 mt/year e-methanol plant for Germany-based LNG supplier Uniper.

PHOTO: Swedish power utility firm Jämtkraft's cogeneration plant in Lugnvik district in Östersund, Sweden.

The fuel produced will primarily be supplied to the shipping and chemical sectors, Uniper said.

E-methanol, or synthetic methanol, is produced using 100% biogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) and green hydrogen. The biogenic CO2 is typically captured through either bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) or direct air capture (DAC). This fuel is virtually free of greenhouse gases and can be used as a drop-in fuel with grey methanol or on its own.

Jämtkraft, a Swedish electric utility company, will provide renewable electricity to power the e-methanol and green hydrogen production, the company announced in January.

The plant will be built in Östersund, Sweden next to Jämtkraft's new biomass-fired cogeneration power plant in the Lugnvik district in Östersund. A biomass-fired cogeneration plant uses organic bio-waste like wood chips and agricultural residues to generate electricity and heat.

The biogenic CO2 emitted from this plant will be used to produce 100,000 mt/year of e-methanol.

Jämtkraft expects to capture around 160,000 mt/year of biogenic CO2 from its Lugnvik power plant, according to its website.

Liquid Wind is developing modular e-methanol production facilities - called Core eMethanol Plants (CMP) – that are ready-to-build units, each with a nominal production capacity of 100,000 mt/year.

In November, the Swedish company announced plans to build 10 such modular e-methanol plants in the Nordics by 2027, with the goal of building 80 by 2030. In total, 80 plants will produce 8 million mt/year of e-methanol for the shipping industry.

By Konica Bhatt

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