The collaboration marks the first commercial deployment of Topsoe’s integrated SOEC and e-methanol synthesis platform.
Forestal del Atlántico, the Spanish shipping and chemicals company, has signed a significant agreement with Topsoe for the delivery of its advanced Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cell (SOEC) technology. This move is for Forestal's groundbreaking Triskelion e-methanol project in Mugardos, Galicia, and represents a crucial step toward its final investment decision (FID), which is anticipated for Q2 2026. The facility is slated to begin operations in 2028.
The agreement solidifies a comprehensive partnership, as Topsoe had previously been selected in December 2024 to provide its e-methanol synthesis technology, catalysts, and engineering. By now integrating the SOEC technology, Topsoe offers an end-to-end hydrogen-to-methanol pathway, which was a key factor in enhancing the project's financial viability. This integrated solution will consume 55MW of green power to produce hydrogen for the e-methanol synthesis, dramatically minimizing interface risk and removing the need for intermediate hydrogen storage.
A major advantage of Topsoe’s integrated platform is its superior efficiency. The solution promises an improved overall efficiency of up to 30% compared to conventional electrolysis systems. This is achieved through the combined efficiency of the high-temperature SOEC electrolysis and Topsoe's synthesis loop, ensuring stable operations even during renewable power fluctuations—a critical requirement for reliable e-methanol production.
The Triskelion plant is designed to produce 156 metric tons per day (MTPD), equating to an annual output of 57,000 tons of e-methanol. Crucially, the process will capture and utilize approximately 78,000 tons of CO2 each year, sourced from renewable or biogenic origins, to produce the green fuel. The e-methanol is intended for applications in the shipping industry and for Forestal’s own use in the chemicals industry for formaldehyde, glues, and resins—such as the glue used in MDF boards, which will transition from ‘grey methanol’ to e-methanol starting in 2028.
The Triskelion project, already recognized as one of Europe’s most advanced e-methanol initiatives, received a substantial EUR 49 million grant from the European Union Emissions Trading System’s Innovation Fund in 2023.
Sundus Cordelia Ramli, CCO Power-to-X at Topsoe, emphasized the project's significance: “Our integrated SOEC and e-methanol technology will enable Forestal to decarbonize its chemical production value chain. This project further demonstrates how combining electrolysis and synthesis technologies in a bankable, end-to-end solution can help decarbonize energy-intensive industries.”
Andrés Fuentes, General Manager at Forestal, echoed this sentiment, stating the strategic alliance “places the Triskelion project in a leading competitive position within the e-methanol sector. This collaboration allows us to optimize operational efficiency, strengthening our ability to compete in the international renewable fuels market.”
The SOECs will be supplied from Topsoe’s new manufacturing facility in Herning, Denmark, which is nearing industrial-scale production readiness, and the agreement includes a 10-year service warranty program.
