Tag: methanol

Chinese scientists develop solar-powered catalyst to produce ethanol from methane

January 27, 2026 | Meghan Sapp

In China, scientists have unveiled a sunlight-powered catalyst that transforms methane—the main component of natural gas—directly into ethanol, a high-value liquid fuel and chemical feedstock. The new material, described today in Frontiers in Energy, achieves an apparent quantum efficiency of 9.4%, a record for photocatalytic methane-to-ethanol conversion, while operating under near-ambient conditions. The breakthrough centers […]

Yokohama Port to waive entrance fees for methanol and biofuel-using vessels

December 31, 2025 | Meghan Sapp

In Japan, the city of Yokohama Port and Harbor Bureau from January 1, 2026 will launch an incentive program, the first of its kind in Japan, for methanol-fueled vessels and biofuel-using vessels that will waive 100% of entrance fees, similar to LNG vessels. The goals are to promote the International Container Strategic Port Policy and […]

Hapag-Lloyd contracts Chinese shipyard for eight dual-fuel methanol for $500M

December 15, 2025 | Meghan Sapp

In China, Hapag-Lloyd has signed a contract with the Chinese shipyard CIMC Raffles for the construction of eight new container ships. The ordered units will each have a capacity of 4,500 TEU and are scheduled for delivery in 2028 and 2029. The investment volume amounts to more than $500 million. The new ships will be […]

DNV white paper shows methanol practical for shipping but still expensive

December 8, 2025 | Meghan Sapp

In Norway, as the shipping industry explores multiple decarbonization pathways, methanol is gaining attention as a practical and scalable alternative fuel for deep-sea shipping. This is supported by over 450 methanol-capable vessels in operation and on order and technical solutions now available for all major ship types. DNV’s latest white paper, “Methanol fuel in shipping,” […]

Blue Circle Olefins lands funding for next phase of Methanol to Olefins plant

November 26, 2025 | Meghan Sapp

In the Netherlands, Blue Circle Olefins secured funding for the next phase of ProjectNL, the construction of a 200,000 metric ton Methanol to Olefins (MTO) in the Netherlands. The facility, which is planned to become operational by 2030, will produce 120,000 ton circular propylene and 80,000 ton circular ethylene from renewable methanol. After finalizing our […]

Singapore´s MPA chooses three companies to license methanol supply

November 24, 2025 | Meghan Sapp

In Singapore, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) will issue licenses to supply methanol as marine fuel in the Port of Singapore from January 1, 2026, following the Call for Applications launched in March 2025. This marks an important step towards establishing methanol bunkering at scale and driving Singapore’s ambition to be a sustainable […]

China’s first offshore hydrogen-ammonia-methanol project starts methanol production

October 30, 2025 | Meghan Sapp

In China, Metal.com reports China’s first offshore hydrogen-ammonia-methanol project in the waters off of Yantai produced its first green methanol in October, demonstrating the production-storage-transportation-utilization chain. The facility is off-grid, powered entirely by wind and solar, achieving a breakthrough in direct seawater electrolysis for hydrogen production that produces 5 metric tons of green hydrogen per […]

Indian CCU project produces methanol from coal-fired power station

October 14, 2025 | Meghan Sapp

In India, after operating successfully for two years, the pioneering carbon capture project at NTPC’s 500 MW coal-fired Unit-13 at the Vindhyachal Super Thermal Power Station in India has reached a major milestone when CO2 captured from flue gas using Carbon Clean’s CaptureX semi-modular technology was used to produce the first drop of methanol. The […]

Singaporean researchers store methanol in ice

October 2, 2025 | Meghan Sapp

In Singapore, natural gas is mostly stored under high pressure or cooled into liquid at -162 °C — both methods that are energy-intensive and costly. An alternative approach, called solidified natural gas, locks methane inside an ice-like cage known as a hydrate. But in practice, these hydrates usually form far too slowly to be practical […]

Methanex launches methanol bunkering services in ARA region and South Korea

September 28, 2025 | Juan Pedro Tomas

In the Netherlands, Offshore Energy reported that Methanex Corporation, a Canadian producer and supplier of methanol, has entered new strategic bunkering partnerships in two major fueling hubs – the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) region and South Korea. In the ARA region, Methanex is partnering with TankMatch to provide barge-to-ship methanol bunkering, and in South Korea, the company […]

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