Japanese methanol supplier Mitsubishi Gas Chemical (MGC) and steel maker JFE Steel have agreed to conduct a pilot project to produce methanol by recycling CO2, including gas derived from JFE's steel production.
The project is expected to begin in the 2026 fiscal year, the companies announced on 24 March. MGC has started building a 100 t/yr methanol plant for this project in the Mizushima industrial complex, west Japan.
The companies will make methanol using CO2, including gas that comes from JFE's steel production. Petrochemical company Mitsubishi Chemical will then use the methanol to produce propylene, which is a feedstock for plastics production. The new plant will be a mobile facility, as MGC is considering conducting similar methanol production trials in different places in the future.
Separately, MGC is also considering launching a green methanol plant after the 2030 fiscal year, which can supply around 1mn t/yr of methanol, the same capacity as a conventional plant. The company expects an increase in global demand for methanol, especially as an alternative fuel for vessels.
MGC has over 7.5mn t/yr of global methanol production capacity. The group seeks to reduce CO2 emissions by 39pc in the 2030 fiscal year compared with the 2013 fiscal year levels, and to achieve net zero emissions by the fiscal year 2050.
