Hamburg-based Mabanaft has received approval to build a new green methanol plant in Port Augusta, located in southern Australia.
Mabanaft will collaborate with project developer and renewable energy company, Vast, to build this plant, known as SM1. The unit will produce 7,500 t/yr of green methanol using concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) and the unit will also include a 10MW electrolyser. SM1 will be powered by Vast's CSP v3.0 technology, which aims to generate zero-emission heat and electricity to produce green methanol.
Mabanaft has received grant approval from the German Projektträger Jülich, the government's project funding body, and is expected to secure €12.4mn ($13.3mn)for this project. The Australian government — through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency — has also pledged to support the project with an equivalent of around €11.9mn.
The plant is likely to be operational by 2027 and will produce green methanol using renewable energy. It is a demonstration project and the expertise developed from this venture is likely to be implemented in the construction of similar projects on a commercial scale globally.
"With access to green methanol, our range of sustainable energy solutions for our customers would continue to grow," Philipp Kroepels, director new energy at Mabanaft said.
The project has been selected as part of the German-Australian Hydrogen Innovation and Technology Incubator, known as HyGate.
The HyGate initiative is one of three initiatives developed as part of the Australia-Germany hydrogen accord signed in June 2021. It intends to establish a German-Australian supply chain for green hydrogen and to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the field of hydrogen technologies.
"This is a significant milestone for Vast and for green fuel production globally," Vast chief executive officer Craig Wood said. "Solar methanol produced at plants like SM1 has the potential to make a huge difference to the transport sector as it urgently looks at ways to decarbonise its fuels. The funding is a testament to Vast's technology as well as our partners within the Solar Methanol Consortium."
The project also has potential to contribute to Germany's National Hydrogen Strategy, which involves importing sustainable energy sources and exporting Germany-made climate protection technologies.
