CETAER signed a collaboration agreement with Técnicas Reunidas S.A. (TR; Madrid, Spain) for the development of an e-methanol plant to be built in Almería (Spain).
The facility will produce 37,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) of e-methanol from the combination of 7,200 m.t./yr of renewable hydrogen with 54,000 m.t./yr of CO2 captured in industrial processes. It is expected to start commercial operations in 2026.
The project, called “Nascar”, includes in a first stage the configuration study of the plant, the preparation of the technical documentation for the permits and the development of a feasibility analysis. The second and third stages of the agreement will cover FEED (Front-end Engineering Design) and EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) services, respectively.
The expected growth in demand for e-methanol, as an alternative energy resource to non-renewable fuels in the transport sector, will trigger the expansion of the plant to reach a production of 300,000 m.t./yr by 2030.
The project has been awarded by the IDAE (Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving) with a “Pioneers 3 Plan” subsidy recognizing its solidness as an “actual and effective integration of a large scale electrolizer in the context of an industrial solution to proof the viability of massive renewable hydrogen production”.
The Nascar promoters, Diego Clemente, Diego J. García and M. Germán Fuentes, stated: “this agreement is another major milestone in the development of the project and proofs that we are solidly moving in the right direction to materialize it as per the schedule.”
Gonzalo Pardo, Head of Business Development for Energy Transition & Power at Técnicas Reunidas, pointed out that “we are glad to cooperate with CETAER on this ‘first of a kind’ project. We are very confident that our capabilities will help it becoming an important step towards energy transition.”