Técnicas Reunidas, an engineering company, and Cetaer, a company with a goal to bring innovation projects to commercial scale in the transport sector, have signed a collaboration agreement for the development of an e-methanol plant to be built in Almería, Spain.
According to Técnicas Reunidas, the facility will produce 37,000 tonnes per year of e-methanol from the combination of 7,200 tonnes per year of renewable hydrogen with 54,000 tonnes of CO2 captured in industrial processes. It is expected to start commercial operations in 2026.
Técnicas said the expected growth in demand for e-methanol, as an alternative energy resource to non-renewable fuels in the transport sector, will trigger the expansion of the plant to reach a production of 300,000 tonnes per year by 2030.
In the first stage, the project, called Nascar, includes the configuration study of the plant, the preparation of the technical documentation for the permits, and the development of a feasibility analysis. The second and third stages of the agreement are expected to cover front-end engineering design (FEED) and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services, respectively.
Técnicas pointed out that the project has been awarded by the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE) with a Pioneers 3 Plan subsidy.
Nascar project promoters Diego Clemente, Diego J. García, and M. Germán Fuentes stated: “This agreement is another major milestone in the development of the project and proves that we are solidly moving in the right direction to materialise it as per the schedule.”
Gonzalo Pardo, Head of Business Development for Energy Transition and Power at Técnicas Reunidas, said: “We are glad to cooperate with Cetaer on this ‘first of a kind’ project. We are very confident that our capabilities will help it become an important step towards energy transition.”
Earlier this year, Técnicas Reunidas won an engineering contract for the development of a large-scale green hydrogen generation plant to be built in Andorra, Teruel, Spain.
The contract includes the plant configuration study, the preparation of relevant technical documentation for permits, and a full cost estimate.