World-First Solar Methanol Project was Launched in Australia

The Australian company Vast, a developer of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) systems, has announced that it has signed a letter of intent with the German company Mabanaft, a fuel trading company. According to the document, Mabanaft intends to invest in the "Solar Methanol 1" project and also become a buyer of this "green methanol."

Earlier, Vast received government funding of AUD 19.5 million and EUR 13.2 million for the implementation of the "Solar Methanol" project under the German-Australian HyGATE program, which aims to promote hydrogen technologies.

The methanol production plant will be located near a 30 MW solar power station (Vast Solar 1 project) in Port Augusta, South Australia. Vast also received a AUD 65 million grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and concessional financing of AUD 110 million from the Australian government for the construction of this facility.

A 10 MW PEM electrolyzer will be used for hydrogen production. The nearby lime production plant will supply captured CO2 emitted during the production process. Carbon dioxide will be captured using the technology developed by the Australian company Calix, specifically designed for cement plants. The produced hydrogen, combined with captured CO2, will be used to synthesize up to 7,500 tons of solar methanol per year.

Heat for the production operations will be supplied by the Vast Solar 1 solar power station. The electrolyzer will receive electricity from the same solar power station and from the grid.

Vast believes that solar methanol is an attractive product as it is easier to use in modernized maritime vessels compared to green ammonia, and it can be readily utilized for the production of green aviation fuel. It is expected to be cost-competitive with fossil fuel methanol once production reaches industrial scale.

Although CSP technology is not as economically competitive as photovoltaics, Vast claims that its developments can compete with other renewable energy technologies. The final investment decision for the project has not yet been made.

Several projects for the production of green methanol have been announced worldwide.

In 2020, a small-scale demonstration project for the production of this liquid fuel using solar electricity was launched in China. In 2021, the Chilean government approved the first project for methanol production from green hydrogen. In 2022, the construction of a large-scale "green" methanol plant began in Sweden, with plans to put it into operation in 2024. Last year, plans for the construction of the world's first large-scale e-methanol production plant were announced by the Danish, and another project was initiated in the Netherlands.