Is green methanol the perfect partner to a mostly-electrified economy? Better than hydrogen?
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Is green methanol the perfect partner to a mostly-electrified economy? Better than hydrogen?
Methanol is easy to transport, store, needed in abundance for chemicals/dense fuels anyway.
What is the current status of methanol projects?
Read @hanno's latest newsletter to find out!
From Coal enabler to the Minimal Green Methanol Economy
While it does not get as much attention as hydrogen, green methanol could play a crucial role in a climate-neutral industry. Ideas for a Methanol Economy have been around for decades, but the implementation challenges should not be underestimated.
(industrydecarbonization.com)
It references a few ideas I sketched on a "minimal methanol economy"
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And an older thread on the topic:
Tom Brown (@nworbmot.bsky.social)
All your carbon shall be methanol Arguments for mopping up all carbon in wastes and residues into methanol; use it to supply sectors that can't be electrified TL,DR: methanol is a liquid; easier to transport/store than CH4/H2/CO2; costs scale down nicely to multi-MW size
Bluesky Social (bsky.app)
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@nworbmot that thread certainly played an important role in my thinking that led to this article. though I have to say, if I had written it in late 2023, it would've been more positive. while I've always realized the challenges of H2 and CCU, recent events certainly readjusted my enthusiasm.
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@hanno I'm not super surprised by some of the negative news. I wouldn't really expect a widespread need for green methanol until 2035-40 anyway. We have enough to do focusing on electrification + renewable build-out now. But the infrastructure (grids, pipelines, etc.) and some tech development needs a longer run-up, so it makes sense to think these things through at the same time.