Spain´s energy company Cepsa, owned by US based equity firm Carlyle and UAE wealth fund Mubadala, and C2X, a company majority owned by A.P. Moller Holding with A.P. Moller – Maersk as minority owner, have announced their intention to develop a green methanol plant in the port of Huelva, Spain.
The project to provide green methanol for multiple industries, including chemicals and shipping, was presented at COP28 in Dubai with the participation of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez; Spanish Third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera; Brian Davis, CEO C2X; and Maarten Wetselaar, CEO Cepsa.
Cepsa states that green methanol is made by using green hydrogen and non-fossil sources of carbon captured from the atmosphere or from agricultural and forestry waste and can replace fossil methanol, reducing carbon emissions in hard-to-abate industries such as long-distance shipping and other industries such as chemicals and plastics.
The project is to develop a plant in Huelva, Spain, entailing an investment of up to €1 billion, that would become one of the five largest green methanol plants in the world with an annual production capacity of 300,000 tons, preventing the emission up to 1 million tons of fossil CO2.
A final investment decision is expected in 2025. If approved, the project has the opportunity to create 2,500 direct and indirect jobs and further position Andalusia and Spain as a leading global sustainable energy hub for the production of green molecules such as hydrogen and methanol, and for their use and transportation through the region’s strategic ports.
Spanish prime minster Pedro Sánchez, said: “This project will not only represent a significant reduction of CO2 emissions. Green methanol will also allow us to advance in the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors, such as shipping or the chemical industry. In other words, this is a significant step towards a future free of fossil fuels.”
“This investment is fully aligned with Spain’s strategy of reindustrialization and energy transition. We want that 81% of our power generation come from renewable sources by 2030. Green hydrogen will play a crucial role and, thanks to projects like this, Spain stands as a global reference.”
Maarten Wetselaar, chief executive of Cepsa, noted: “This partnership is another milestone in our strategy to make Spain a European hub for green molecules this decade, with viable projects to reduce emissions in sectors that are difficult and urgent to decarbonize. We will work with the Spanish government to develop the regulatory framework needed for this project to be successful and scalable.”
Brian Davis, chief executive of C2X, commented: “We see a growing demand for green methanol to help industries like shipping, aviation and chemicals move away from fossil-carbon based alternatives. While this project has strong fundamentals it will need an enabling framework in order to offer a competitive source of green methanol to its target customers. We look forward to working with Cepsa and the Spanish government as we develop the project.”
