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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Danish renewable energy major Ørsted (Fredericia, Denmark) has terminated its ongoing development of one of Europe's largest planned commercial-scale e-Methanol facilities.
Under construction since 2023 in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, the FlagshipONE plant was scheduled to be operational next year and be capable of supplying up to 55,000 tonnes of e-Methanol per year to the shipping industry. The decision was revealed as the company disclosed its interim report for the first half of the 2024 financial year, which noted impairment costs related to the cancellation of FlagshipONE of around 1.5 billion Danish kroner (US$221 million). The company blamed weak development in the marketplace for the decision.
"The liquid e-fuel market in Europe is developing slower than expected, and we have taken the strategic decision to de-prioritise our efforts within the market and cease the development of FlagshipONE," explained Mads Nipper, group president and chief executive officer of Ørsted. "We will continue our focus and development efforts within renewable hydrogen, which is essential for decarbonising key industries in Europe and closer to our core business."
FlagshipONE was acquired by Ørsted in December 2022 from original project developer Swedish company Liquid Wind (Göteborg, Sweden). Construction started in mid-2023. Industrial Info is tracking 117 green methanol projects in Europe worth almost US$14 billion. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports.
The European Union (EU) has ambitious decarbonisation targets at the heart of its European Green Deal and the recent Fit-for-55 initiative, which aims to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Sustainable liquid fuels are expected to play a major role in decarbonising the transport sector and are typically defined as low-carbon liquid fuels that can directly replace conventional, fossil-based transport fuels such as diesel, kerosene, gasoline and bunker fuel. They also include products that are currently not commonly used as transport fuels, such as methanol and ammonia in shipping.
The Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) introduced target blending quotas for advanced biofuels, which directly affect demand for sustainable liquid fuels in the road, air and sea sectors, all of which are developing at different rates but led by road and air. Total demand in the EU, according to the European Investment Bank (EIB) was approximately 17 million tonnes of oil equivalent (mtoe) in 2022, and this could grow to 21 mtoe in 2030 and 34 mtoe by 2035. However, the current sustainable liquid fuel project pipeline is not sufficient to meet expected demand. For e-fuels, the EIB noted that additional investments in hydrogen production, carbon capture and renewable electricity are required, bringing the cumulative amount needed until 2035 to between 200 billion (US$221 billion) and 300 billion euro (US$332 billion).
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
Under construction since 2023 in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, the FlagshipONE plant was scheduled to be operational next year and be capable of supplying up to 55,000 tonnes of e-Methanol per year to the shipping industry. The decision was revealed as the company disclosed its interim report for the first half of the 2024 financial year, which noted impairment costs related to the cancellation of FlagshipONE of around 1.5 billion Danish kroner (US$221 million). The company blamed weak development in the marketplace for the decision.
"The liquid e-fuel market in Europe is developing slower than expected, and we have taken the strategic decision to de-prioritise our efforts within the market and cease the development of FlagshipONE," explained Mads Nipper, group president and chief executive officer of Ørsted. "We will continue our focus and development efforts within renewable hydrogen, which is essential for decarbonising key industries in Europe and closer to our core business."
FlagshipONE was acquired by Ørsted in December 2022 from original project developer Swedish company Liquid Wind (Göteborg, Sweden). Construction started in mid-2023. Industrial Info is tracking 117 green methanol projects in Europe worth almost US$14 billion. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports.
The European Union (EU) has ambitious decarbonisation targets at the heart of its European Green Deal and the recent Fit-for-55 initiative, which aims to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Sustainable liquid fuels are expected to play a major role in decarbonising the transport sector and are typically defined as low-carbon liquid fuels that can directly replace conventional, fossil-based transport fuels such as diesel, kerosene, gasoline and bunker fuel. They also include products that are currently not commonly used as transport fuels, such as methanol and ammonia in shipping.
The Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) introduced target blending quotas for advanced biofuels, which directly affect demand for sustainable liquid fuels in the road, air and sea sectors, all of which are developing at different rates but led by road and air. Total demand in the EU, according to the European Investment Bank (EIB) was approximately 17 million tonnes of oil equivalent (mtoe) in 2022, and this could grow to 21 mtoe in 2030 and 34 mtoe by 2035. However, the current sustainable liquid fuel project pipeline is not sufficient to meet expected demand. For e-fuels, the EIB noted that additional investments in hydrogen production, carbon capture and renewable electricity are required, bringing the cumulative amount needed until 2035 to between 200 billion (US$221 billion) and 300 billion euro (US$332 billion).
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
