North-C-Methanol project is launched to be a landmark example of sustainable industrial symbiosis

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Type of post: NEWS. 

Last month, ten private- and public-sector partners (Alco Bio Fuel, ArcelorMittal, ENGIE, Fluxys, Mitsubishi Power, North Sea Port, Oiltanking, PMV, POM Oost-Vlaanderen, Proman) launched the North-C-Methanol project. Together they will reduce annually the CO2 emissions by 140,000 tons and generate 44,000 tons of green methanol, which can be used as feedstock for the chemical industry as well as fuel for ships and trains. 

Figure 1. North-C-Methanol project concept (taken from the project website) 

North-C-Methanol is the first project which is part of the North-CCU-Hub programme and right now represents an investment of 140 M€. It entails the construction of two large-scale demo plants and supporting infrastructure on the Rodenhuize peninsula in North Sea Port: 
(1) A 65-MW electrolyser that is being erected on the ENGIE site. This plant will convert water into green hydrogen and oxygen using wind power. 
(2) A Proman methanol plant on the Rodenhuize peninsula that will use this green hydrogen to convert the collected CO2 emissions of major local industrial players, such as ArcelorMittal and Alco Bio Fuel, into green methanol. 
The local chemicals and renewable fuel industries, such as Cargill, can in turn use the methanol as a green raw material and/or as a green fuel for marine vessels and railroads. 

The North-C-Methanol project is a landmark example of sustainable industrial symbiosis: raw materials are extracted locally, and finished products and secondary flows are used locally. A new, circular economy will be created in North Sea Port: waste from one enterprise will be used as a raw material by another one. All by-products of the methanol production process, such as oxygen, heat, and water, will also be recycled locally. This will ensure a unique and far-reaching industrial and circular integration. 

North-CCU-Hub expects a gradual increase of the North-C-Methanol capacity from 65 MW in 2024 to 600 MW in 2030, as part of an evolving programme whereby new technologies, markets, and products (ammonia, formic acid, fatty acids, esters, and proteins) will be developed and integrated. Expert partners UGent, Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, CAPTURE and the Flemish clusters Catalisti and Flux50 are shaping these innovation pathways.

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