Renewable DME can help the LPG industry transition to net zero, while opening up opportunities in the hydrogen market, writes Waldemar Jaszczyk
Renewable DME can help the LPG industry not only decarbonise but also provide energy security and open the door to the promising hydrogen market, delegates heard at the World LPG Association's LPG Week in Delhi on 14-18 November.
Pioneering renewable DME company Dimeta, a joint venture between distributors SHV Energy and UGI International, told delegates that it is working on two new production plants in Europe and the US. Development of its first , UK, is under way and due to finish in 2024, following the opening of a 4.5 t/d demonstration plant in Birmingham with partner Kew Technology in mid-2022. Dimeta plans to produce about 300,000 t/yr from six plants by 2027.
Renewable DME offers an effective way for the LPG industry to transition to net zero as well as improving energy security, Dimeta's business development director Luca Vailati told attendees. The main advantage the fuel has is "feedstock agnosticism" — the ability to be made from multiple waste feedstocks — providing stable and distributed supply opportunities, he said. Decoupling output from volatile feedstock pricing will allow renewable DME to be competitive without subsidies. The Teesside plant is expected to process about 220,000 t/yr of non-recyclable municipal solid waste. Dimeta initially based its decision to locate the plant in Teesside based on grid carbon intensity, carbon capture, utilisation and storage connectivity, and the local LPG market, Vailati said. But other factors soon played a part, including energy prices and supply chain disruption, he said.
Development of renewable DME will also open up opportunities in the emerging hydrogen market, according to US firm Oberon Fuels' vice-president of commercial development Cinch Munson. The California-based company was the first to start commercial production of renewable DME from its 1.5mn USG/yr Maverick plant in mid-2021. It recently began selling the product for a blend with propane in partnership with US LPG retailer Suburban Propane. Now it plans to deploy the world's first renewable DME-to-hydrogen reformer in 2023.
Global hydrogen production is forecast to grow to 294mn t by 2050, which would represent demand for 1.3bn t of renewable DME, Munson said. Oberon's initial production of hydrogen from renewable DME will be about 1 t/d, which is expected to rise to 2.5-4 t/d by 2024, he said. Renewable DME is an ideal hydrogen carrier for a number of reasons, including the ideal temperature for reforming, pressurised level for shipping and its toxicity, delegates heard.
Converting LPG transport infrastructure to renewable DME is comparatively cheap — about $2,500 for an LPG truck compared with $2mn for three hydrogen tube trailers holding the same amount, Munson said. Developing hydrogen fuelling and storage infrastructure would be limited and expensive, whereas the LPG industry could deliver these assets for renewable DME nearly overnight, he said.
Succor punch
Moving into hydrogen could also offer the LPG sector policies and frameworks that have been lacking in its decarbonisation drive. Oberon and the US government's research and development centre, Los Alamos National Lab, were awarded a $1.5mn grant under the Department of Energy's hydrogen at-scale programme to develop an integrated steam reforming process for renewable DME to hydrogen.
The main challenge for the LPG industry remains production of renewable DME at scale, the panellists said. Only small amounts are produced by Oberon and sold in a propane blend by Suburban, while the 300,000 t/yr from Dimeta represents a significant leap but not nearly enough to decarbonise an industry that consumes more than 300mn t/yr. Yet the speed of recent developments provides hope, with more companies initiating aggressive plans to ramp up output. "We have technologies to make it a reality," Munson said.
Renewable DME projects | ||
Location | Project | Status |
US | Oberon Fuels rDME plant in California | First rDME sold in the US in June 2021. |
UK | Dimeta's rDME demonstration plant in Wednesbury | Operational in mid-2022 |
US | Oberon Fuels' rDME>rH2 plant | 1,000 kg/d production by 2023, 2,500-5,000 kg/d production by 2024 |
UK | Dimeta's Teeside commercial plant | 50,000 t/yr production by 2024 |
US | Oberon Fuels' 2 and 3 rDME plants | operational in 2025 |