Switzerland-headed integrated industrial group Proman AG has announced that it has entered into an agreement with UK port operator, Global Energy Group Ltd (GEG) to develop a renewable power to methanol plant utilizing local sources of captured carbon dioxide (CO2) to be located at the Nigg Oil Terminal in the Highlands of Scotland.
GEG is also the owner of the Nigg Oil Terminal and Proman is the second-largest methanol producer in the world, deploying a fully integrated approach to the entire value chain from project development and production to marketing, logistics, and shipping.
We are delighted to be joining forces with Proman on this potentially seminal project for Scotland. Green methanol can be made from many plentiful sources and with the efforts being made to capture North Sea carbon dioxide, we hope to become an important customer and consumer of projects such as the Acorn Project to produce clean fuels for the wider maritime transport sector, said Tim Cornelius, CEO of Global Energy Group.
The development of an industrial-scale renewable power to methanol production facility with CO2 to be provided from local industrial sources will be known as the “Cromarty Clean Fuels Project“.
Subject to the successful completion of ongoing financial and technical feasibility studies, and further development and financing of the project, Proman will become the owner, operator, and off-taker of the green methanol production facility.
As a global leader in methanol production, we are actively investing and pursuing green methanol projects to further develop methanol’s potential as a clean fuel for the future. Working with Global Energy Group in establishing green methanol production in Scotland is an exciting development in our strategy as it combines the necessary requirements of low-cost renewable energy and utilizes local sources of captured CO2 to produce green methanol said David Cassidy, CEO of Proman.
Study to determine optimal scale
GEG is seeking to strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of the Cromarty Firth region by establishing an industrial low carbon cluster at the Port of Nigg which it hopes will increase local productivity, stimulate innovative new partnerships, even among competitors, and attract significant inward investment in essential supply chain infrastructure to help the Scottish and UK governments achieve their ambitious climate change targets.
The Cromarty Clean Fuels Project team is now assessing the commercial, technical and financial viability of renewable power to methanol production and export facility with the ability to store onshore at Nigg and load methanol to be exported on bulk carrier vessels using the repurposed Nigg Jetty.
The feasibility study is investigating how project feasibility changes with scale, to determine the optimal scale for the project.
Onshore and offshore wind is one of the world’s fastest-growing sources of energy, however, wind power must be dispatched as soon as it is produced, even if there is not enough demand for electricity. When this happens, operators have little choice but to disconnect the renewable source from the grid, leading to wasted energy and costs for governments and operators. This plant will have the capability of harnessing excess power to produce green methanol, which can then be used as an automotive or shipping fuel or as a chemical building block in thousands of everyday products, said Tim Cornelius.
A versatile “green” liquid
Green methanol is a renewable, liquid, product that is used as a transportation fuel or as a feedstock in the chemical industry. It is produced from recycled carbon dioxide and hydrogen produced from renewable electricity using proven technologies such as electrolysis.
Green methanol can be used as a fuel that drastically cuts greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and local air pollutants by eliminating sulphur oxide (SOx), particulate matter (PM), and significantly reducing nitrogen oxide (NOx) and CO2 emissions.
As a global leader in methanol production, we are actively investing and pursuing green methanol projects to further develop methanol’s potential as a clean fuel for the future. Working with Global Energy Group in establishing green methanol production in Scotland is an exciting development in our strategy as it combines the necessary requirements of low-cost renewable energy and utilizes local sources of captured CO2 to produce green methanol. The UK has proven itself as a world leader in supporting offshore wind, tidal and other clean power generation technologies. Green methanol presents a significant opportunity to bridge the gap from fossil-based to renewable fuels as we move to a lower-carbon future and as such the production of and market for ‘green’ methanol from sustainable sources such as waste, biomass or renewable energy is growing and highly scalable, ended David Cassidy.
