World’s largest plant for making methanol fuel from CO2 opens in China

The first commercial-scale plant for making methanol from carbon dioxide will save an estimated 500,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year compared with making methanol from coal

By Michael Le Page

The world’s largest facility for converting carbon dioxide and hydrogen into methanol is now up and running in China.

Methanol – a liquid also called wood alcohol – is used for the production of chemicals such as plastics and as a fuel. It is usually made from coal or natural gas, but making it from waste CO₂ will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“We estimate the emissions avoidance to be greater than 500,000 tonnes of CO₂ or equivalent per year,” says Ómar Freyr …