World’s first commercial-scale e-methanol plant opens in Denmark

The world’s first commercial-scale e-methanol plant began operations in Kasso, Denmark on 13 May 2025. The plant is jointly owned by Denmark’s European Energy and Japan’s Mitsui.

• The new plant will produce 42,000 metric tons, or 53 million litres, of e-methanol per year.

• Traditional methanol is typically produced from natural gas and coal. The Kasso plant will make e-methanol using renewable energy and CO2 captured from biogas plants and waste incineration.

Feedstocks Used:

• Low-emissions electricity
• Water
• Renewably sourced CO₂, captured from:
  • Biogas plants
  • Waste incineration
  • Other sources like direct air capture (DAC) or direct ocean capture (DOC)

Production Process:

• Electrolysis powered by renewable electricity splits water to produce hydrogen
• Hydrogen is combined with biogenic CO₂ to produce e-methanol

Environmental Benefit:

• Unlike traditional methanol (made from natural gas or coal), e-methanol is produced using renewable resources, significantly reducing carbon emissions.

Industry Context:

• The shipping sector is under pressure to adopt cleaner fuels to meet the International Maritime Organization (IMO) goal of zero carbon emissions by 2050.
• E-methanol and green ammonia are seen as key zero-emission alternatives, but have been more expensive due to lack of production at scale.