Orsted awards carbon capture contract for e-methanol project

ORSTED has awarded Carbon Clean the carbon capture equipment supply contract for its FlagshipONE e-methanol project in Sweden.

Carbon Clean’s proprietary CDRMax technology will be used to capture 70,000 t/y of CO2 from a biomass-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. CDRMax produces CO2 with purities ranging from 95–99%, which can then be sold, used, or stored.

FlagshipONE will see the captured CO2 combined with renewable hydrogen to produce 50,000 t/y of e-methanol for the shipping industry, which Carbon Clean says currently accounts for 3% of global carbon emissions.  

The planned carbon capture plant will be modular and designed for ease of construction and future replication. Following offsite testing, modules will be transported and assembled on site in autumn 2024. It will be co-located with the CHP plant.

Carbon Clean expects that as most of the plant components will be fabricated and sourced from Europe, this will help develop a large European supply chain base.

FlasgshipONE, expected to be operational in 2025, will be Orsted’s first commercial-scale power-to-X facility and is an important step for the company as it aims to become a leader in renewable hydrogen and green fuels. Power-to-X refers to energy conversion technology that can be used to store surplus renewable energy as chemical energy. The technologies can be used to produce clean fuels, chemicals, and feedstocks.

Aniruddha Sharma, CEO of Carbon Clean, said: “The FlagshipONE project not only demonstrates the role carbon capture must play in decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors, such as shipping, but also that the technology is ready and there is absolute confidence in our ability to deliver at scale.”