Unveiling the findings of GENA Solutions’ September Projector Navigator Methanol release, CEO Vitalii Protasov said that: ‘New large-scale and more cost-competitive renewable methanol projects are pushing older projects, particularly those with small capacities or located in regions with high renewable energy costs, out of the market.’
Describing what a ‘typical new project’ looks like, Protasov said: ‘It’s a large-scale methanol plant in China, based on biomass gasification and renewable hydrogen (biomethanol, e-methanol, or hybrid).’
In a notice posted on his LinkedIn page this morning (1 October), Protasov also reported that the renewable methanol project pipeline increased from 28.0 million tonnes (Mt) in August to 29.3 Mt in September (+1.3 Mt), while the total renewable and low-carbon methanol project pipeline grew from 36.1 to 37.5 Mt.
‘As of September 2024,’ Protasov added, ‘GENA tracks 105 e-methanol plants and projects with total capacity of 17.0 Mt (+0.2 Mt), 73 biomethanol plants and projects with total capacity of 12.3 Mt (+1.1 Mt), and 14 low-carbon methanol plants and projects with total capacity of 8.1 Mt.’
China, in particular, is seeing a rapid expansion in its renewable methanol capacities. ‘In September, the total capacity of renewable methanol projects in China reached 14.6 Mt, accounting for 50% of the global project pipeline,’ said Protasov, adding that China will likely export a substantial portion of its renewable methanol production.
