Cop: Korea’s Plagen plans Azeri green methanol plant

Market: Biomass, Emissions, Petrochemicals
15/11/24

South Korean clean energy firm Plagen has signed an initial agreement to develop a green methanol production plant near the port of Baku, Azerbaijan.

Plagen expects that the plant, which it described as Azerbaijan's first green methanol facility, will produce 10,000 t/yr of the fuel by 2028. It will use Plagen's technology, the firm said at a side event at the UN Cop 29 climate summit today.

The methanol will be produced from agricultural waste and wood waste, including hazelnuts shells and almond shells, which will be sourced from Azerbaijan, Plagen chief executive officer John Kyung said. The production process yields 96t of methanol from 300t of biomass.

The produced methanol will be used as bunker fuel, and contribute Baku port's goal to reach "carbon neutrality" by 2035 amid increased traffic through the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, as ships seek alternatives to the fraught Suez Canal route.

Kyung said today that the firm also has plans to produce green methanol at Indonesia's Batam to supply as bunker fuel to Singapore, the biggest bunkering port in the world.

Plagen also expects 32,000 t/yr of green methanol production by 2027 at a plant in Taebaek, South Korea. This is up from 10,000 t/yr as previously planned.

By Tng Yong Li

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