Orsted, the Danish renewable energy developer, has been chosen by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations to begin negotiations for up to $100 million in federal funding. The funding will support the construction of a Power-to-X facility along the Texas Gulf Coast as part of Orsted's Star e-Methanol project.
The Star e-Methanol project was selected as one of 33 projects across more than 20 states to demonstrate commercial-scale decarbonization solutions. Melissa Peterson, head of onshore and P2X Americas at Orsted, emphasized the importance of e-methanol production in achieving rapid decarbonization for hard-to-electrify sectors.
Peterson stated, “The production of e-methanol will be critical to achieving rapid decarbonisation for the most hard-to-electrify sectors, and we are thrilled to have the US Department of Energy's support to develop and scale this new industry.”
The US industrial and transportation sectors account for 65% of US greenhouse gas emissions. Orsted aims to leverage its renewable power portfolio to produce green hydrogen and e-methanol, reducing emissions from these sectors.
The Star e-Methanol project is expected to produce up to 300,000 metric tonnes of e-methanol annually. This fuel can be used directly in marine shipping, as an input in sustainable aviation fuel, or in chemical production, all of which currently rely on energy-intensive fossil-derived fuels.
The project includes building new onshore wind and solar projects in Texas to power the electrolysis of green hydrogen, capturing biogenic carbon from an industrial facility, and synthesizing the captured biogenic carbon with green hydrogen to create e-methanol.
Orsted estimates that the project will create 300 construction jobs and 50 permanent jobs for operations and maintenance, with many employees based in Houston, where Orsted opened a new office in early 2024.
