In Denmark, the very first manufacturing unit within the large-scale e-methanol manufacturing world | EUROtoday

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“Cis a bit of my baby and I’m proud of it. “Taking in hand a miniature bottle of e-methanol,” the green fuel of the future “, Knud Erik Andersen, a big smile on his lips, says to himself” a happy man “. At the pinnacle of a Danish power firm, European Energy, he has simply inaugurated his most formidable mission with nice fanfare, Power-to-X, the primary manufacturing unit on the earth to provide on a industrial inexperienced methane scale in Kassoe, in southwest Denmark.

A couple of minutes earlier, a purple and white tank truck left the location like a rock star to the applause of the visitors, with 230,000 liters within the tanks, the primary manufacturing of the location supposed for the container provider Laura-Maerskfrom the Danish shipowner Ap Moeller Maersk, moored on the port of Aabenraa about ten kilometers away. This constructing launched in 2023 is the primary on the earth to sail with bio-methanol.

“It is a day of celebration after four years of development to convert wind and solar energy into sustainable fuel and 18 months of work,” says Knud Erik Andersen. And “with only Danish and European companies”, at an estimated price of round 150 million euros, “without any subsidy,” he mentioned.

Up to 42,000 tonnes per 12 months

The website, nestled in a inexperienced setting, fueled by the most important northern European photo voltaic park of 304 MW, constructed by European Energy, goals to provide as much as 42,000 tonnes of e-methanol (53 million liters) per 12 months. It is predicated on “the use of electrolysis provided by the German Siemens Energy, with a combined capacity of 52.5 MW, the most powerful in Europe, operating mainly from solar energy”, in line with Emil Vikjær-Andresen, director of the manufacturing unit.

“42,000 tonnes may seem like a drop of water in the ocean in the face of some hundred million tonnes of methanol produced per year from fossil fuels (65 % gas and 35 % coal), but it is a very important step in the right direction,” he mentioned. The icing on the cake, the surplus warmth launched by the manufacturing of e-methanol will likely be used to warmth 2,500 surrounding houses.

“This first production is only the beginning of a progressive rise, with ambitious objectives to increase our capacities and continue to innovate,” recalled the European Energy boss, who has been combining since 2023 within the Japanese Mitsui & Co on this mission. “Moitsi has brought,” he says, “strategic expertise and global scope to support the development and long-term exploitation of the site” by changing into a associate of 49 % of the photovoltaic and manufacturing unit park.

“This brand project,” provides Knud Erik Andersen, a decisive turning level for the choice gas business, paving the best way for a major discount in CO₂ emissions within the tough to electrifying sectors, together with land, sea and air transport. In any case, a turning level within the race for the power transition in Denmark, a pioneer in Europe in its seek for viable and sturdy options to fossil fuels and the decarbonation of the transport and business sectors, main officers of greenhouse gasoline emissions.

Confident on this main technological advance of Power-to-X, with its e-methanol produced from co₂ biogenic and inexperienced hydrogen by electrolysis, three industrial emblems of the Scandinavian Kingdom-the world quantity two MAERSK, the Novo Nordisk pharmaceutical group and the Lego toy giant-have dedicated to be the primary clients.

A brand new manufacturing website by 2026

For Rabab Raafat Boulos, Director of Operations at AP Moeller Maersk, “the Kassoe site marks an important step in our efforts to find alternative fuels for our fleet”, particularly because the group is dedicated to reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. Equally conscious of lowering the influence of manufacturing on the atmosphere, the consultant of Novo Nordisk, Dorthe Nielsen judges that The 150 million insulin injection pens offered worldwide are constituted of plastic from fossil fuels ”.

“We are going to,” she mentioned, “opt for e-methanol in our manufacturing chain and even think about creating a pen with a neutral and reusable carbon footprint. “Lego is simply as fascinated with” the supply of e-methanol which is part of our ambition to make our products more sustainable, “mentioned Carsten Rasmussen, director of operations of the group.

An indication of recognition, the Kassoe Power-to-X manufacturing unit was licensed in April for the manufacturing of e-methanol, in accordance with the brand new EU sustainability framework for renewable fuels. This certification, the primary of its sort for the manufacturing of methanol, was granted by the European International Certification System of Sustainability and Carbon (ISCC), confirming that the manufacturing of methanol meets the factors of renewable gas of non -biological origin (RFNBO) of the directive on renewable energies.


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“We must continue to improve us, to innovate, as the Chinese do,” says Knud Erik Andersen, who intends to double his manufacturing of inexperienced methanol by planning “the opening of a new production site of some 100,000 tonnes of e-methanol in 2026 in Denmark or perhaps abroad”, a mission that has already acquired a assist of fifty million euros from the European Commission.

Just as optimistic because the leaders of European Energy, Henrik Lund Frandse, professor on the Denmark Technical University, thinks that “the opening of the Kassoe site shows that Danish technology is innovative and exportable”. “The only problem is that this technology has a high price,” he mentioned. “But which will necessarily decrease if we manage to reduce costs and if production reaches cruising speed to meet growing demand for this green fuel at the neutral carbon footprint”, nuances the European Energy boss.


https://www.lepoint.fr/economie/au-danemark-la-toute-premiere-usine-au-monde-de-production-d-e-methanol-a-grande-echelle-14-05-2025-2589611_28.php