Cepsa has agreed with the independent company C2X (Maersk) to install the largest green methanol plant in Europe in the port of Huelva. The two companies will allocate a joint investment of 1,000 million euros for the development of this project, which will produce green methanol to supply the needs of several industries, such as chemicals and maritime transport. This type of methanol is produced from green hydrogen, something in which Spain aspires to become a European hub. The announcement was made at COP 28.
AP Moller Holding, the majority shareholder of C2X, and AP Moller-Maersk, its minority shareholder, have already shown interest in proposing projects to promote the use of sustainable fuels in Spain, having agreed with the Government to collaborate in this area in November last year. The Government of Spain had also committed to Denmark to promote the energy transition through international collaboration.
The alliance between C2X and the energy company controlled by Mubadala and Carlyle was announced during the COP28 Climate Summit held these days in Dubai, which was also attended by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the third vice president and minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera.
The plant could create 2,500 jobs
The final investment decision is scheduled for 2025 and, if approved, this project could create 2,500 direct and indirect jobs and will position Andalusia and Spain as a leading global hub in sustainable energies for the production of green molecules, such as Hydrogen. and methanol, and for its use and transportation through the strategic ports of the region.
This project in Huelva would thus become one of the five largest green methanol plants in the world, with an annual production capacity of 300,000 tons – and could even reach a maximum production of 380,000 tons -, which will avoid the emission of up to one million tons. of CO2. Specifically, the green Hydrogen produced in the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley that Cepsa and its partners are developing will supply part of the Hydrogen that this plant will need.
The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, highlighted that this project “is a significant step towards a future free of fossil fuels” and stressed that this investment is “fully aligned with the Spanish strategy of reindustrialization and energy transition.” “We want 81% of our energy generation to come from renewable sources by 2030. Green hydrogen will play an essential role and, thanks to projects like this, Spain is positioned as a global benchmark,” he said.
For his part, the CEO of Cepsa, Maarten Wetselaar, considered the agreement as “another milestone” in the energy company’s strategy to make Spain a European ‘hub’ of green molecules in this decade, “with viable projects to reduce emissions in sectors that are difficult and urgent to decarbonize”.
An enabling regulatory framework
Likewise, the oil company executive extended his hand to the Spanish Government to “develop the necessary regulatory framework for this project to be successful and expand.” Meanwhile, C2X CEO Brian Davis also insisted that the project, despite having “solid fundamentals”, will need “an enabling framework to be able to offer a competitive source of green methanol to its customers.” “We look forward to working with Cepsa and the Spanish Government to carry out this project,” he added.
Green methanol, which is produced from green hydrogen and carbon of non-fossil origin captured from the atmosphere or generated from agricultural and forestry waste, and can replace conventional methanol, thus allowing the reduction of CO2 emissions from sectors such as Long-distance maritime transport or other industries such as chemicals and plastics production are one of Cepsa’s big bets in its decarbonization strategy. By 2050, global methanol demand could triple to about 300 million tons annually, most of it green methanol.
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