In Indonesia, the Indonesian Business Post reports the country’s fertilizer producer Pupuk Indonesia will build two methanol plants to support the pending biodiesel blending mandate increase to 50% from July 1 in an effort to reduce import dependence on the key biodiesel production ingredient. The country currently imports 1.5 million metric tons of methanol annually […]
In Tennessee, Chattanooga’s Moccasin Bend Environmental Campus is launching a project that will generate electricity from wastewater methane, a move expected to significantly reduce the campus’s roughly $300,000 monthly energy costs while turning a treatment byproduct into a reliable on-site energy source. The Mainspring system will allow MBEC to produce much of its electricity on-site, […]
In Canada, thyssenkrupp Uhde has been awarded a contract by Halifax-based Nova Sustainable Fuels (NSF) to perform an integration and optimization study for NSF’s biomass-to-methanol project in Nova Scotia, Canada. This study will quantify the value of thyssenkrupp Uhde’s integrated process, including both gasification and methanol synthesis for the production of over 450,000 metric tons […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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,” […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
