The agreement is expected to increase green methanol production to 20,000 tons per year by applying plasma technology to the green methanol production plant being promoted by Plagen. ReCarbon and Hyojin E&HY will utilise plasma technology to produce syngas and water electrolysis technology to produce hydrogen.
The basic design of the new plant is already underway. Last year, Plagen signed an MoU with Kapsom, a methanol synthesis technology company, and signed a letter of intent with a large plastic manufacturer to supply the green methanol. The company also signed an agreement with Yangpyeong County Forestry Association for the raw material in June 2023.
ReCarbon has experience operating pilot plants that convert the carbon dioxide and methane into hydrogen and carbon monoxide, and will expand into the production of clean fuels such as green methanol, green hydrogen, and low-carbon jet fuel. The company has also completed a demonstration of syngas production from landfill gas in Tennessee, US, and a pilot plant to convert landfill gas to ethanol is underway in Australia with Woodside Energy.
Plasma is a highly reactive state of matter created by applying energy to a gas. The Plasma Carbon Conversion Unit (PCCU) developed by ReCarbon, Inc. converts carbon dioxide and methane, which are global warming gases, into hydrogen and carbon monoxide with high added value, enabling economical operation of the equipment and production of carbon-neutral raw materials.
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has set a goal of reducing carbon emissions to 100 percent (net-zero) by 2050, requiring shipping companies to switch from traditional non-carbon-neutral fuels to carbon-neutral fuels that include green methanol.
Global demand for methanol is expected to reach more than 500 million tons by 2050, of which clean methanol demand is expected to be 385 million tons. All of the 2.2 million tons of methanol used domestically is imported, and the domestic market for clean methanol is expected to be 500,000 tons in 2028.
Meanwhile, the expected effects of the 20,000-ton annual green methanol production plant are KRW 84 billion in production induced effects, KRW 35 billion in value-added effects, and 330 people in employment induced effects, and the project is expected to contribute to the vitalisation of the local economy in Donghae City and the expansion and growth of the renewable energy market.
The project is expected to have a major impact as a commercialisation example of the CCU business that increases green methanol production by integrating green methanol production technology using biomass, plasma carbon conversion technology that reduces CO2 emissions, and water electrolysis green hydrogen production technology.
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