Leading UK port operator, Global Energy Group (GEG) has entered into an agreement with Swiss-based integrated energy company Proman to develop a renewable power to methanol plant, utilising local sources of captured carbon dioxide (CO2) to be located at the Nigg Oil Terminal in the Highlands of Scotland.
According to a statement the development the facility will be known as the “Cromarty Clean Fuels Project.”
Subject to the successful completion of ongoing financial and technical feasibility studies, and further development and financing of the project, Proman will become the owner, operator and offtaker of the green methanol production facility.
GEG is also the owner of the Nigg Oil Terminal and Proman is the second largest methanol producer in the world, deploying a fully integrated approach to the entire value chain from project development and production to marketing, logistics and shipping.
Tim Cornelius, CEO of Global Energy Group said the company was delighted to be joining forces with Proman, adding that green methanol can be made from many plentiful sources.
“And with the efforts being made to capture North Sea carbon dioxide, we hope to become an important customer and consumer of projects such as the Acorn Project to produce clean fuels for the wider maritime transport sector,” Cornelius said.
He said onshore and offshore wind is one of the world’s fastest growing sources of energy, however, wind power must be dispatched as soon as it is produced, even if there is not enough demand for electricity.
According to Cornelius when this happens, operators have little choice but to disconnect the renewable source from the grid, leading to wasted energy and costs for governments and operators.
“This plant will have the capability of harnessing excess power to produce green methanol, which can then be used as an automotive or shipping fuel or as a chemical building block in thousands of everyday products,” he added.
David Cassidy, CEO of Proman, said as a global leader in methanol production Proman is actively investing and pursuing green methanol projects to further develop methanol’s potential as a clean fuel for the future.
He said working with Global Energy Group in establishing green methanol production in Scotland is an exciting development in Proman’s strategy as it combines the necessary requirements of low cost renewable energy and utilises local sources of captured CO2 to produce green methanol.
Cassidy also noted that the UK has proven itself as a world leader in supporting offshore wind, tidal and other clean power generation technologies.
“Green methanol presents a significant opportunity to bridge the gap from fossil-based to renewable fuels as we move to a lower carbon future and as such the production of and market for ‘green’ methanol from sustainable sources such as waste, bio-mass or renewable energy is growing and highly scalable,” he said.
Green methanol is a renewable, liquid, product that is used as a transportation fuel or as a feedstock in the chemical industry.
It is produced from recycled carbon dioxide and hydrogen produced from renewable electricity using proven technologies such as electrolysis.
