FlagshipONE eMethanol project is planned to be developed in Örnköldsvik, Sweden. The Power-to-X facility is expected to produce 50,000 tonnes of e-methanol annually to facilitate the decarbonisation of the shipping industry.

The Land and Environment Court in Umeå granted environmental permit for the project in September 2022.

In December 2022, Danish multinational power company Ørsted acquired the remaining 55% stake in FlagshipONE from the original developer Liquid Wind to become the sole owner of the project.

The Final Investment Decision (FID) on the e-methanol facility was also taken in December 2022.

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The onsite construction of the plant is scheduled to start in early 2023, with first production is expected to be achieved in 2025.

Project Details

FlagshipONE will be located near the Hörneborgsverket biomass-fired combined heat and power plant (CHP) in Örnköldsvik. This power plant is operated by Övik Energi.

The facility will produce eMethanol, also referred to as renewable methanol or electro-methanol, by reacting biogenic carbon dioxide and green hydrogen.

Hydrogen will be produced through the process of electrolysis powered by 75MW onshore wind facility, while the biogenic carbon dioxide will be captured from the Hörneborgsverket CHP plant.

After eMethanol is formed, the carbon-neutral liquid fuel will be purified, concentrated and transported to the storage facilities for distribution.

The eMethanol facility will also use steam, process water, and cooling water from Hörneborgsverket.

The excess heat generated from the production process will be transported back to Övik Energi to integrate in their district heating supply.

The facility will be able to produce 140 tonnes of renewable methanol per day. The by-product oxygen will be captured and supplied to local industry.

According to Liquid Wind, the facility will upcycle up to 70,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

The eMethanol produced is intended to power all kinds of ships, and help in replacing fossil fuel used in the marine industry.

eMethanol can also be used in the production of other sustainable chemicals and fuels including synthetic gasoline, acetic acid, formaldehyde and olefins.

Key Contractors Involved

In May 2021, Liquid Wind awarded Worley a front-end engineering design (FEED) services and cost estimate contract for FlagshipONE eMethanol project.

The facility will have four Siemens Energy’s Silyzer 300 Electrolyzers to produce hydrogen.

Siemens Energy will also carry out plant-wide electrification, instrumentation & automation including engineering and services. Additionally, it will be responsible for digitalisation with Digital Twin implementation, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), analytics, and AI applications.

Haldor Topsoe will provide its eMethanol technology as well as end-to-end process design and engineering support to produce eMethanol at scale. Under the Engineering, Procurement and Fabrication (EPF) contract, Topsoe will provide its eMethanol technology and pre-assembled modules and free-standing equipment such as the methanol reactor and distillation columns.

The eMethanol technology will involve mixing concentrated carbon dioxide and hydrogen and compressed to create renewable methanol at a rate of ca. 5.8 tonnes per hour.

Earlier in February 2020, Topsoe joined Liquid Wind as a strategic investor during a SEED round

In April 2021, Alfa Laval became a partner of power-to-X consortium that includes Liquid Wind. As a partner, Alfa Laval will contribute to the design of eMethanol facilities.

In September 2022, Gothenburg Port Authority announced that it is collaborating with Stena Line, DFDS, Ørsted and Liquid Wind to establish an electrofuel hub.

Liquid Wind’s eMethanol production scale-up plan

Swedish power-to-fuel development company Liquid Wind aims to develop ten Flagship eMethanol facilities by 2030 and deliver 500 plants globally by 2050 to meet growing demand for cleaner fuel.

As part of the initiative, the company has established strategic partnerships with Ørsted, Alfa Laval, Carbon Clean, Siemens Energy, Topsoe and Uniper.

In June 2022, Liquid Wind signed an agreement with Sundsvall Energi regarding the second electrofuel facility FlagshipTWO. The 100,000-tonne electrofuel facility will be located in Sundsvall in the north-east of Sweden.

In June 2022, Liquid Wind raised €4m in its Series A funding round to support the development of the first eMethanol production facility.

Swedish Climate Leap Klimatklivet invested €15m in FlagshipONE in November 2022.

Liquid Wind has also entered into a partnership with Elyse Energy to set up eMethanol facilities in France and Southern Europe.