First commercial scale e-methanol plant leans on Sulzer’s distillation technology

European Energy is applying an innovative process, known as Power-to-X (PtX) to convert renewable electricity, from solar panels or wind turbines among others, into other forms of easier to store energy, namely e-methanol. The plant in Kassø located in the southern part of Denmark, will be supplied with power from the adjacent 300 MW solar park owned by European Energy and it represents the first step in bringing this e-fuel to market at scale to support the maritime and road transportation industries as well as the chemical sector.

Sulzer Chemtech, the global leader in separation and mixing technology, will deliver two distillation units with a customized design to European Energy’s ground-breaking facility. These will play an essential role in the plant’s ability to produce e-methanol of extremely high purity for use in combustion engines and for use as a chemical feedstock, for example to produce plastic while requiring minimal energy inputs.

Half of the total plant output, 16’000 metric tonnes per annum, will be delivered to A. P. Moller – Maersk to fuel the company’s first container ship capable of operating on green methanol. The 172 m (564 ft) long feeder vessel will be able to hold over two thousand 6 m (20 ft) equivalent container units and will sail in Northern Europe.

Emil Vikjær-Andresen, EVP and head of Power-to-X at European Energy, comments: “The success of our operations depends on the ability to deliver high quality e-methanol, meeting demanding specifications, while minimizing the environmental impact of our activities. Only in this way can we effectively support the adoption of more sustainable fuels. Sulzer Chemtech is a key partner, with extensive expertise in the sector and solutions that are able to address our ambitious goals. We look forward to working together to deliver a sustainable product to help companies achieve their net zero targets.”

Jacques Juvet, Head of Application and Process Technology, Process Plants at Sulzer Chemtech, concludes: “We are proud to be selected by European Energy for this exciting green project that will have a major impact in driving the transition towards sustainable fuels. Our global Bio-based and Renewables application development team is well-established worldwide and this collaboration further attests to the knowledge of our specialists and the quality of our solutions.”

Sulzer is a global leader in fluid engineering. We specialize in pumping, agitation, mixing, separation and application technologies for fluids of all types. Our customers benefit from our commitment to innovation, performance and quality and from our responsive network of 180 world-class manufacturing facilities and service centers across the globe. Sulzer has been headquartered in Winterthur, Switzerland, since 1834. In 2021, our 13’800 employees delivered revenues of CHF 3.2 billion. Our shares are traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: SUN).

The Chemtech division is the global market leader in innovative mass transfer, static mixing and polymer solutions for chemicals, petrochemicals, refining  and LNG. We are steering the way in ecological solutions such as bio-based chemicals, polymers and fuels, recycling technologies for textiles and plastic as well as carbon capture and utilization/storage, contributing to a circular and sustainable economy. Our product offering ranges from process components to complete process plants and technology licensing.

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