GIDARA Energy B.V., a Dutch technology-based energy company has announced the collaboration between its planned Advanced Methanol Amsterdam (AMA) facility and key players in the value chain from non-recyclable waste to advanced methanol – PARO, bp, and Linde OCAP.
Founded in 2019, GIDARA Energy is a joint venture between G.I. Dynamics B.V., an independent and international technology partner, and Ara Partners LLC, a US-headed private equity firm specializing in industrial decarbonization investments.
Announced in June 2021, the objective of the Advanced Methanol Amsterdam (AMA) facility is to contribute to better, more sustainable fuels and a circular economy. The integration of the entire product value chain is therefore essential for the success of the facility and to meet governmental objectives to achieve CO2emission reductions as defined in the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II).
The value chain represents an important step in realizing GIDARA Energy’s goal of converting non-recyclable waste into valuable end products. As such, GIDARA Energy, bp, PARO, and Linde are delivering on their commitment to improving their sustainability footprint, moving towards a circular economy, said Wim van der Zande, CEO of GIDARA Energy.
Utilize non-recyclable waste
Together with AMA, Amsterdam-based waste treatment company PARO will pelletize the non-recyclable waste to be used as feedstock in the facility. The Pelletized Feed Material (PFM) will be converted into advanced syngas using GIDARA Energy’s patented and commercially proven High-Temperature Winkler Gasification Technology (HTW), which will then converted into advanced methanol.
The experience of GIDARA in chemical plants and gasification plus PARO’s experience in waste handling and recycling makes it possible to develop a waste sorting and pelletizing facility suitable for the HTW gasification technology. By having PARO’s waste handling adjacent to the AMA site, eliminates the need for unnecessary transport and rehandling of waste material and pellets, said Gerard Putman, Director at PARO.
Methanol as an advanced biofuel
AMA is exclusively working with bp for the offtake of advanced methanol from the project. Advanced methanol can help decarbonize the global transportation and petrochemical sectors.
The feedstock can contribute towards the growing European waste-based (advanced) biofuels mandates as it is considered advanced under the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II).
bp recognizes the need for the world to transition from a linear economy to a circular one, which includes reconsidering how we think about waste. We believe that by partnering with AMA on the offtake of advanced methanol, we can use our longstanding biofuels expertise to successfully integrate AMA’s product into multiple energy markets in which we trade, said David Bucknall, SVP Refining and Products Trading, bp.
Feeding the world by utilizing green CO2
GIDARA Energy and AMA work closely with Linde to develop the capture and production of clean green carbon dioxide (CO2), which is aimed to be provided by Linde subsidiary OCAP to greenhouse horticulture.
A CO2-enriched atmosphere in the greenhouses is important in the growth of plants, and the sector is facing a shortage of availability of green CO2 in the near future. In addition, GIDARA Energy, AMA, and Linde work together to make oxygen (O2) available for the conversion process used by AMA.
We are excited to collaborate with GIDARA Energy and AMA as it offers OCAP the opportunity to use green CO2. Without the availability of green CO2 as provided by OCAP, greenhouses have no other alternative than to produce their own CO2 by burning natural gas. This puts their sustainability goals at risk, said Jacob Limbeek, Director at OCAP.
The AMA facility will be fully operational in 2023, setting a great step towards Europe’s objectives to achieve CO2 emission reductions as defined in the Paris Agreement. The AMA plant will produce a yearly average of 87 000 tonnes of advanced methanol which will be used for advanced biofuels blending.
