LNG challenges growth of green methanol

The fuel’s inroads in maritime fuel market hamper efforts to secure demand for synthetic fuel, German utility Uniper tells World Hydrogen Congress

The growth of the synthetic methanol sector has slowed as it faces growing competition from LNG in the maritime fuels markets and pushback from offtakers unwilling to pay a green premium, according to German utility Uniper. Uniper is investing in production of the green fuel, with a strong focus on the Nordic region as it has the “key ingredients” for synthetic methanol production: competitive power prices, decent access to power grids and available sources of biogenic CO₂, Sebastian Groeblinghoff, the company’s vice-president of Nordic green fuel assets, told the World Hydrogen Congress in Copenhagen. Earlier this year, Uniper signed an agreement with Swedish municipal energy company Jamtkr