SolMeth24

Duration: 1.6.2024 - 31.12.2027

The Institute of Future Fuels is part of an Australian-German consortium that is building the new SM1 solar methanol plant in South Australia. The plant can produce up to 7,500 tonnes of green methanol per year using concentrated solar energy. Methanol is a versatile chemical that can be produced from hydrogen and carbon dioxide. If this is done using clean, renewable energy, the process can help to make sectors that are difficult to decarbonise, such as shipping and aviation, more environmentally friendly. The methanol plant will utilise the environmentally friendly and cost-effective heat generated by Vast Solar's VS1 concentrating solar power plant at the site.

Cooperation between German and Australian technology providers

The project combines the expertise of leading German industrial companies such as Mabanaft, Fichtner and bse Methanol with DLR's innovations to develop a plant for the production of solar methanol and scale it up to an industrial scale. The methanol produced is to be sold on the global markets in order to decarbonise sectors such as shipping - possibly also in Germany. Methanol can be used as a low-emission fuel for ships to replace conventional fossil fuels and thus significantly reduce the sector's emissions. Another valuable contribution of the project is the development of logistics, supply chains and a market of interested customers.

Challenges: Energy supply and methanol costs

Although the technology used is already commercially available, this project is the first to combine different processes on this scale. As with all processes fuelled by renewable energies, the fluctuations and availability of green electricity pose a challenge. The use of heat from solar thermal power plants (CSP) is intended to provide a remedy here, as the heat for electricity production is available on site at all times thanks to storage technologies. This means that the distillation of raw methanol can be operated almost continuously, reducing the need for green electricity, increasing the plant's operating hours and speeding up start-up and shutdown times. This ultimately leads to more favourable production costs for green methanol.

DLR has extensive experience in the design of industrial processes that are supported by solar heat. This offers an excellent opportunity for knowledge and technology transfer.

Technological support from a pilot plant in Jülich

As part of the design and commissioning of the plant, DLR is developing a model to test new concepts for heat integration and to evaluate the economic efficiency and environmental friendliness of the methanol plant. In addition, the construction of a pilot plant is planned in Jülich, which will model the SM1 methanol reactor system. The aim of the pilot-scale plant is to test different operating conditions and catalysts in advance in order to minimise risks and accelerate the construction of SM1 in Australia.

Further information can be found on the project website:

www.sasolarfuels.com