Topsoe’s Sustainable Methanol Project in Denmark Gets Off the Ground

Denmark-based Haldor Topsoe, a leading reduced-carbon technologies company, has started operation at its demonstration plant facilitating the production of sustainable methanol from biogas at the research facility of Aarhus University located in Foulum, Denmark. The facility will be employing the company’s electrified steam methane reforming technology to produce 10,000 litres of low-carbon methanol annually. In addition to methanol, the project will have the capability to deliver green ammonia, green hydrogen and electrofuels.

The project is a joint effort of many collaborators which include Aarhus University, Blue World Technology, Sintex, Energinet, Technical University of Denmark, Aalborg University. The project has also received support from EUDP Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program due to its potential to become the beacon for future paradigm shifts to carbon-neutral productions from conventional production methods that account for the release of 1.4 tons of carbon dioxide for each ton of produced methanol.

The sustainable methanol generated from this technology is apt for usage in low carbon additive-based blending of automotive fuels, marine fuels, and chemicals production.

As per ChemAnalyst, with more than one-fourth of methanol’s production serving the automotive industry as blending fuel, the market will be witnessing huge demand for methanol in the coming years. The methanol demand is expected to rise at a CAGR of over 5%. Considering its projected strong demand, green methanol production comes as a boon to the end-user sector and society as a whole, for its ability to reduce carbon emissions on our planet. This project which claims to produce methanol at economical costs in comparison to other green methods is expected to decrease the methanol prices in the downstream market.