[ e-methanol ]
Figure 4 . Levelized cost of methanol as a function of feedstock costs ¹
entire electrolysis system . In terms of initial investment , for a turnkey plant with a production capacity of 80,000 tons per year , an estimated investment of € 70 – 100 million can be expected , excluding the costs of hydrogen production and CO 2 capture .
This high investment makes it advantageous to develop the plants as large as possible ( limited by the availability of CO 2
), since , as production capacity increases , operating and capital costs per unit of production are significantly reduced through economies of scale .
In terms of specific values , for each ton of methanol produced , approximately 0.2 tons of H 2 and 1.4 tons of CO 2 are required , depending on the carbon efficiency of the chosen technology and the purity of the gases . Moreover , 0.8 MWh of electricity and 0.3 MWh th of thermal energy will be consumed , in addition to the need to dissipate 2 MW th of heat . Table 1 presents an example based on a plant with an annual production capacity of 80,000 tons of methanol , assuming 8,000 hours of operation per year .
These consumption figures are estimates and may vary depending on operating conditions and the pressure at which H 2 and CO 2 are received . In this reference case , it is assumed that both
CO 2 and H 2 arrive at atmospheric pressure . Consequently , energy consumption could be considerably reduced if feedstocks were supplied at a higher pressure , which can be easily achieved using pressurized alkaline or PEM technology , with suppliers such as Plug Power offering output pressures of up to 40 bar . Assuming a reactor operating pressure of 100 barg , if hydrogen is supplied to the plant at 40 barg and
CO 2 at atmospheric pressure , the specific power consumption per ton of methanol produced would
Hydrogen Tech World | Issue 20 | February 2025 35