The Power-to-Fuel project, led by Liquid Wind (Gothenburg, Sweden; www.liquidwind.se), will establish commercial-scale renewable fuel facilities. The Consortium (consisting of Axpo, COWI, Carbon Clean Solutions, Haldor Topsoe, Nel Hydrogen and Siemens) will combine their expertise and technology to produce liquid, carbon-neutral fuel from captured carbon dioxide (CCU) and green hydrogen (from renewable electricity). The project is supported by a €1.7-million investment from EIT InnoEnergy and is a significant milestone in meeting growing demand for renewable fuels to enable more sustainable transportation. Converting power to saleable products is a promising area of development as companies seek more sustainable operations.
Visualization of an eMethanol Facility (Source: Liquid Wind)
Together, the Consortium members will integrate their technology and optimize the fuel production process. Each facility will capture waste carbon dioxide (CCU) and combine this with hydrogen, made from renewable electricity and water, to produce renewable methanol, known as eMethanol. This versatile, liquid fuel is carbon-neutral and easy to store, transport and use. The process of upcycling waste carbon dioxide for use as a renewable fuel to replace fossil fuels, will prevent the emission of new carbon dioxide. The fuel provides an ideal solution to reduce carbon emissions, particularly within the Marine sector and Road Transport, which are currently lacking viable, low-carbon fuel options at scale.
“Industries and governments are making commitments to reduce their carbon emissions and operate in a more sustainable manner. To actually achieve this, we need to ensure that we have the necessary resources and infrastructure in place. With our passionate team and expert consortium Liquid Wind are excited to bring cost-competitive and scalable renewablsays e fuel to market to meet this growing demand and enable a more sustainable future,” Claes Fredriksson, CEO & Founder, Liquid Wind
“The world needs to reduce CO2 emissions, and eMethanol can help to achieve that. It makes us proud to be part of this consortium that brings together very capable players in the field. We look forward to bringing our tried and tested methanol technology into this innovative context,” adds Tore Sylvester Jeppesen, Senior Business Development Director, Haldor Topsoe
The Consortium is now designing the technology integration for the first facility, in Sweden and expect to be supplying eMethanol from 2023. Each facility will produce 45,000 metric tons (m.t.) of carbon-neutral fuel per year, enabling a reduction of 90,000 m.t. of CO2. The long-term collaboration will result in a standardized eMethanol facility blueprint, captured as a ‘digital twin’, for efficient replication. Liquid Wind and the Consortium intend to develop 6 facilities across Scandinavia by 2030, the concept will then be scaled and licensed internationally.
Axpo Nordic AS will handle power supply to the facility, this includes balance responsibility, intra-day optimization and long-term fix-price supply for power. Axpo is the perfect partner for this given their extensive wind portfolio and interest in contributing to both wind power investments, ancillary services to the market and new sustainability-based business ideas in line with Liquid Wind.
Carbon Clean Solutions is a global leader in low-cost carbon-dioxide-capture technology. Their highly effective technology will efficiently capture and concentrate waste carbon dioxide from large-scale emitters. Alongside this talented team of industry experts they are excited to contribute to a net zero world.
COWI is a leading consulting group with world-class competencies within engineering, economics and environmental science. They will support the Consortium with Project Management and Engineering, to ensure all partner’s work is incorporated for the Balance of Plant. COWI are interested to support the use of advanced fuels made from renewable feedstocks and enable the transformation to a more sustainable future.
Haldor Topsoe will contribute its highly efficient methanol process, hardware and catalysts to the Liquid Wind consortium. Topsoe is proud to be part of this consortium that brings together very capable players in the field to achieve this.
Liquid Wind is in discussions with several other companies and expects to sign contractual agreements in the coming months.