Thyssenkrupp lands FEED deal for e-methanol plant in Finland

German chemical engineering company thyssenkrupp Uhde has secured an order to deliver front end engineering design (FEED) and its green methanol technology for an e-methanol plant in Kristinestad, Finland, set to supply maritime and e-gasoline fuel markets.

The planned e-methanol plant is part of a power-to-X (P2X) project developed by Koppö Energia, a joint venture between Prime Capital and CPC Finland.

The facility with a planned capacity of 450 metric tons per day (mtpd) will produce e-methanol from green electricity and water using thyssenkrupp Uhde’s production technology.

The necessary renewable hydrogen will be produced by a 200 MW water electrolysis plant while CO2 will be captured in the city of Vaasa in Finland from a waste incineration facility and then liquified and transported via trucks to the P2X facilities.

Nadja Håkansson, CEO of thyssenkrupp Uhde, said: “We are proud that our technology and implementation know-how will contribute to this pioneering project by Koppö Energia Oy. This is an excellent proof point for cross-industrial cooperation in the establishment of green methanol as a fuel.”

Thomas Zirngibl, Director at Koppö Energia, added: “We are very pleased to cooperate with thyssenkrupp Uhde on this project as they bring the right technologies as well as the integration skills for ensuring a smooth tie-in and project delivery.”

According to a white paper by the trade association Methanol Institute, the EU’s FuelEU Maritime and the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) could create a level playing field for bio- and e-methanol, making eco-friendly fuels economically competitive compared to fossil marine fuels.

The report titled “Economic Value of Methanol for Shipping under FuelEU Maritime and EU ETS” suggests that the two regulatory frameworks could ‘effectively encourage’ the transition to sustainable fuels, particularly methanol, opening the door for the maritime industry to adopt further alternative fuels and take sizeable leaps toward its all-embracing net-zero by 2050 target.

With the rising costs of non-compliance with FuelEU’s greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity reduction targets coupled with the gradual phase-in of EU ETS, bio- and e-methanol represent a ‘compelling’ economic upper hand by helping ship operators avoid the rising non-compliance penalties, the white paper argues.