Danish multinational power company Ørsted’s Board of Directors has taken final investment decision (FID) on the 50,000 tonnes/year FlagshipONE e-methanol project, according to the firm on Tuesday (20 December).

FlagshipONE will be Ørsted’s first commercial-scale Power-to-X facility and is an important stepping stone towards Ørsted’s ambition of taking a leading position in renewable hydrogen and green fuels. Reinforcing the commitment to the FID, Ørsted has taken full ownership of FlagshipONE by acquiring the remaining 55 % stake in the project from Liquid Wind AB, the original developer of the project.

Located in Örnsköldsvik in Northern Sweden, FlagshipONE is Europe’s largest FID’ed green e-methanol facility. FlagshipONE is expected to enter into operation in 2025 and will produce around 50,000 tonnes of e-methanol each year to help decarbonise the world’s shipping industry.

Global shipping accounts for around 3% of global carbon emissions, and the sector is a focus area for Ørsted as the company expands its presence in Power-to-X across Northern Europe and the United States. FlagshipONE is the first e-methanol project in Ørsted’s ambitious green fuels pipeline; the company is also developing the 300,000 tonne ‘Project Star’ in the US Gulf Coast area and the ‘Green Fuels for Denmark’ project in Copenhagen, which will both produce significant volumes of e-methanol to enable the decarbonisation of shipping.

Mads Nipper, Group President and CEO of Ørsted, said: “Now more than ever, the world needs bold green energy projects to fight climate change, decarbonise hard-to-electrify sectors, and secure regional energy independence. Ørsted is determined to lead the green transformation of society, and that’s exactly what we’re doing by constructing projects like FlagshipONE.  E-methanol is the best solution currently available to decarbonise hard-to-electrify sectors like global shipping, and with this first commercial-scale project, Ørsted will break first ground in advancing our industry-leading pipeline of e-methanol projects.”

Olivia Breese, CEO of Ørsted Power-to-X, said: “The final investment decision on FlagshipONE proves our intention to take proactive investment decisions in order to drive the rapid maturation of the Power-to-X market beyond ambitions and announcements and into the delivery of molecules to abate well-to-wake emissions.”

“Our first offshore wind projects came with significant risk, but we saw a route to leveraging our capabilities to deliver that technology as a cornerstone in the green transformation. Today, Power-to-X is at a similar inflection point – and at Ørsted, we’re once again ready to assume risk and lead the maturation of this crucial technology. However, the Power-to-X industry urgently needs supportive frameworks that enable the transition away from fossil fuels, and we call on policymakers to take action to match the climate ambitions of developers and shipping companies.”

Ørsted will start onsite construction of FlagshipONE in the spring of 2023. The project will be located on the grounds of the biomass-fired combined heat and power plant Hörneborgsverket in Örnsköldsvik, operated by Övik Energi. The e-methanol from FlagshipONE will be produced using renewable electricity and biogenic carbon dioxide captured from Hörneborgsverket. In addition, FlagshipONE will use steam, process water, and cooling water from Hörneborgsverket. Excess heat from the e-methanol production process will be delivered back to Övik Energi and integrated in their district heating supply.

Related: Ørsted and ESVAGT order world’s first e-methanol powered service operation vessel
Related: Study: eMethanol well-to-wake CO2 emissions 94% lower when compared to fossil marine fuels
Related: Sweden: FlagshipONE applies environmental permit for e-methanol bunker fuel production plant

Photo credit: Ørsted
Published: 22 December, 2022