Power to methanol Antwerp
Sustainably produced and climate-neutral methanol is one of the ways to achieve the 2050 climate targets. The first plant for this purpose is currently under development. Seven international players are working together in a consortium on the realisation of this plant. KH Engineering is responsible for the overall engineering of the new plant.
'Our Antwerp industry has the shared ambition to achieve climate-neutral production by 2050,' says Frederik Hofman. He is chairman of the board of directors of the Power to Methanol Antwerp consortium. Climate-neutral methanol can play an important role. Methanol is a widely used raw material in the chemical industry in our region, but has been produced from fossil raw materials up to now. Our new method is very different: we use sustainably generated electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen via electrolysis, and add captured CO2. Our factory then produces sustainable methanol, which can be used in various production processes here in the region.
A serious plant
Over the past few years, seven parties have come together in the Power to Methanol Antwerp consortium to realise their climate ambitions. In recent years, they have invested a great amountof time in developing the concept and bringing together the necessary technical partners. In Power to Methanol Antwerp we have brought together seven parties in the consortium: ENGIE, the Antwerp Port Authority, Fluxys, Indaver, INOVYN, Oiltanking and the Flemish Environmental Holding Company," explains Frederik. The plant will be built on INOVYN's site in Lillo, which will make the necessary space available. If we can make an official decision about the investment and the permit is granted at the end of this year, the production is expected to start at the beginning of 2023. The plant, which will be operated flexibly, will then have a capacity to produce about 8,000 tonnes of sustainable methanol per year, and can therefore definitely not be called a demo plant, but a serious one.'
Sustainable methanol is the future
The project is currently in the phase that the basic engineering has been completed. Frederik: 'KH Engineering is taking care of the integral engineering of both the ISBL and OSBL parts, and the integration of the systems designed by individual suppliers. In addition, they provide increasingly accurate cost estimates. I have only heard positive things about KH Engineering, and so far the project has gone well. Frederik is looking forward to the completion of the plant, and even dares to look further ahead. Sustainably produced methanol is the future, but first we must first create the right market. Therefore climate-neutral methanol might be a bit more expensive in the beginning and need support from the government. But after further scaling up, I expect the new technology to become competitive quickly. Then we will have the right market and we will have a nice product that helps to fight climate change as well.
Visit https://powertomethanolantwerp.com/ for more information about this initiative.