Denmark-headed renewable energy utility Ørsted A/S has disclosed that its Board of Directors has taken a Final Investment Decision (FID) to go ahead with the FlagshipONE e-methanol project in Sweden. Reinforcing the commitment to the FID, Ørsted has taken full ownership of FlagshipONE by acquiring the remaining 55 percent stake in the project from Swedish electro-fuels (efuels) project developer Liquid Wind AB, the original developer of the project.
Global shipping accounts for around 3 percent of global carbon emissions. According to International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Net Zero-scenario for 2050, the shipping industry needs to reduce its emissions by almost 15 percent from 2021 to 2030.
The IEA points toward both technological innovation, supportive policies, and collaboration across the value chain to develop and deploy low-carbon fuels in the industry, a sector that is a focus area for Ørsted as the company expands its presence in Power-to-X (PtX) sector across Northern Europe and the United States (US).
Located in Örnsköldsvik in Northern Sweden, FlagshipONE is currently Europe’s largest green e-methanol facility that has reached a positive final investment decision.
Now more than ever, the world needs bold green energy projects to fight climate change, decarbonize hard-to-electrify sectors, and secure regional energy independence. Ørsted is determined to lead the green transformation of society, and that’s exactly what we’re doing by constructing projects like FlagshipONE. eMethanol is the best solution currently available to decarbonize hard-to-electrify sectors like global shipping, and with this first commercial-scale project, Ørsted will break first ground on advancing our industry-leading pipeline of e-methanol projects, said Mads Nipper, CEO of Ørsted.
Strong partnerships
Since its foundation in May 2017, Liquid Wind has established strategic partnerships with Ørsted, Alfa Laval, Carbon Clean, Siemens Energy, Topsoe, and Uniper.
In 2020, municipal energy company Övik Energi AB and Liquid Wind began to look at the possibilities of using Övik Energi’s biogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) from its Hörneborgsverket biomass-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant as an important raw material for the production of e-methanol.
It was soon realized that the location had many strengths in the form of land, access to steam, electricity, and cooling as well as proximity to the port
In early 2022, Liquid Wind and Ørsted reached an agreement under which Ørsted acquired a 45 percent ownership share of FlagshipONE.
Ørsted will now acquire the remaining 55 percent and take on full ownership.
At Liquid Wind we are thrilled to have reached this point together with Ørsted and Övik Energi. The fact that FlagshipONE will be the largest commercial-scale electro-fuel plant in Europe is extra exciting as we are breaking new ground and hopefully inspiring others to also contribute to the decarbonization of shipping. Coming together with our partners and investors we are committed to drastically grow the production of green electro-fuel and reducing the world’s dependency on fossil fuels. Stay tuned for more to come, said Claes Fredriksson, CEO and Founder of Liquid Wind.
Construction starts in early 2023
FlagshipONE will be Ørsted’s first commercial-scale Power-to-X facility and is an important stepping stone towards Ørsted’s ambition of taking a leading position in renewable hydrogen and green fuels.
We’re very pleased that we have successfully co-developed FlagshipONE together with Liquid Wind, and we look forward to starting the construction of this world-class Power-to-X asset. Together with Liquid Wind, we’ve proven that large-scale production of sustainable eMethanol is possible, and I believe that FlagshipONE will become a milestone in the green transformation of the maritime sector, Anders Nordstrøm, Chief Operating Officer of Ørsted Power-to-X.
Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2023 and is expected to enter into operation in 2025.
Topsoe will provide Engineering, Procurement, and Fabrication (EPF) for the project’s eMethanol technology.
The shipping industry is one of the single biggest emitters of CO2 accounting for 3 percent globally. It makes us proud to be part of this consortium that brings together very capable players to actively bring down this figure. We look forward to bringing our tried and tested methanol technology into this innovative context and to supporting decarbonization of the shipping industry alongside Ørsted, a leader in renewable energy, said Sundus Cordelia Ramli, Member of Liquid Wind’s Board of Directors and CCO for Power-to-X at Topsoe.
BioCCU
The project will be located on the grounds of Övik Energi’s biomass-fired CHP plant in Örnsköldsvik.
The e-methanol from FlagshipONE will be produced using renewable electricity and biogenic CO2 captured from Hörneborgsverket.
The decision means that Övik Energi gets another large customer in the industrial area of High Coast Innovation Park.
The use of biogenic CO2 – carbon capture and utilization (CCU) whereby the CO2 is reused in the electro-fuel, will contribute to reduced CO2 emissions for the CHP plant.
We are very happy that this project will come to fruition and welcome Ørsted and FlagshipONE to our facility in Örnsköldsvik. In addition to becoming a new and significant industrial customer for Övik Energi, this will mean reduced climate emissions. Being able to contribute to the realization of the project and thereby support green initiatives is very gratifying, said Kristina Säfsten, CEO at Övik Energi.
In addition, FlagshipONE will use steam, process water, and cooling water from Hörneborgsverket. Once fully operational, FlagshipONE will produce around 50 000 tonnes of e-methanol per annum to help decarbonize the world’s shipping industry.
Excess heat from the e-methanol production process back to Övik Energi for integration into the district heating supply.
The final investment decision on FlagshipONE proves our intention to take proactive investment decisions in order to drive the rapid maturation of the Power-to-X market beyond ambitions and announcements and into the delivery of molecules to abate well-to-wake emissions. Our first offshore wind projects came with significant risk, but we saw a route to leveraging our capabilities to deliver that technology as a cornerstone in the green transformation. Today, Power-to-X is at a similar inflection point – and at Ørsted, we’re once again ready to assume risk and lead the maturation of this crucial technology. However, the Power-to-X industry urgently needs supportive frameworks that enable the transition away from fossil fuels, and we call on policymakers to take action to match the climate ambitions of developers and shipping companies, ended Olivia Breese, CEO of Ørsted Power-to-X.
