Americas News
OCI Global Plans Doubling of US Green Methanol Production Capacity
Chemicals firm OCI Global is planning to double its output of green methanol in the US and add synthetic methanol to its production slate for the first time.
The company is planning to add 200,000 mt/year of green methanol production capacity at its Beaumont, Texas plant, taking total US output to 400,000 mt/year, it said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.
The plant will produce green methanol both from biogas and from green hydrogen.
The firm expects green methanol demand growth of six million mt/year by 2028, driven primarily by methanol-fuelled shipping.
"We are seeing encouraging signs with regulatory support for both ammonia and methanol in shipping, such as the EU's FuelEU maritime regulation and the latest IMO strategy bolstering the value of low carbon and green methanol and ammonia relative to fossil fuels," Ahmed El-Hoshy, CEO of OCI Global, said in the statement.
"It is clear that both fuels will need to play an integral role to reach the IMO's revised targets and OCI Global stands ready to supply them.
"However, these targets must be supported by practical mechanisms to continue to maintain momentum towards meeting global greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets."
Methanol is rapidly gaining in popularity as an alternative marine fuel, with orders of methanol-fuelled tonnage now coming in regularly from a variety of shipping segments. The main challenge for this market will be the scaling-up of green methanol supply in time to meet the needs of the new ships as they are delivered.
