Orsted scraps Swedish e-methanol project intended for bunker supply
“We continue to believe in the long-term market for e-fuels, but the industrialisation of the technology, as well as the commercial development of the offtake market, have progressed significantly slower than expected,” Orsted clarified in its second-quarter financial report.
Ørsted acquired FlagshipONE from Swedish e-methanol producer Liquid Wind in 2022. The facility was planned to produce 50,000 mt/year of e-methanol for bunkering.
Electromethanol (e-methanol) or synthetic methanol, is produced by combining 100% biogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) with green hydrogen. Biogenic CO2 is typically captured through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) or direct air capture (DAC).
This fuel can reduce a vessel’s CO2 emissions by 65-95% on a well-to-wake basis compared to fossil bunker fuels, according to the Methanol Institute.
In this case, Orsted planned to produce green hydrogen at the plant using four proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers with a combined capacity of 70 megawatts (MW). The facility aimed to capture approximately 70,000 mt/year of biogenic CO2 annually from biomass-fired combined heat and power plants and use it to produce e-methanol via synthesis.
Orsted had partnered with Siemens Energy for the electrolysers and London-based Carbon Clean for the CO2 capture equipment. Other project partners included the Swedish Port of Gothenburg, Swedish ferry operator Stena Line, Danish logistics firm DFDS and Danish methanol producer Topsoe.
Construction of the plant was underway in Örnsköldsvik in northern Sweden and operations were expected to begin next year.
