First CO2 and H2-to-Methanol plant begins operations in China

Nov. 11, 2022
The new facility can capture 160,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. This captured CO2 is reacted with the recovered hydrogen in the proprietary ETL reactor system

Carbon Recycling International has announced that the commercial scale CO2-to-methanol plant, which uses its Emissions-to-Liquids (ETL) technology, has commenced production in Anyang, Henan Province, China.

The facility is the first in the world to produce methanol from waste CO2 and hydrogen gases. The new facility can capture 160,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

This captured CO2 is reacted with the recovered hydrogen in the proprietary ETL reactor system. The facility has an annual production capacity of 110,000 tonnes of methanol.

This new production method offers an alternative to traditional coal-based methanol and reduces GHG emissions.

"We are proud to have successfully realized this important project and to bring our environmentally friendly, ETL technology into the global market,” Björk Kristjánsdóttir, CEO of CRI, emphasizes the importance of the plant's start-up. “We take great pleasure in being able to offer our proven technical solution to produce a valuable product directly from CO2 emissions. This technology can support large scale reduction of carbon emissions and help facilitate the energy transition."

This is CRI's second project in China.  

Global Power Markets Outlook: The Energy Transition Gathers Pace

Download Research on key trends by Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables

About the Author

EnergyTech Staff

Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

He can be reached at [email protected]

EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.