European project plans plastic from green methanol

The Danish investment giant A.P. Moller Holding has created a business named Vioneo to make polypropylene and polyethylene in Antwerp, Belgium, from green methanol rather than oil or natural gas. Moller plans to invest almost $1.7 billion in the project, which would be the first of its kind in Europe.

Moller has not disclosed the technology it intends to use but says the approach is “innovative and proven” and will be powered by renewable energy.

Green methanol can be made by reacting carbon dioxide with hydrogen produced via water electrolysis powered by renewable energy. It can also be made from biomethane derived from agricultural, forestry, or food waste.

Green methanol could be supplied by C2X, a firm Moller founded in 2023 that aims to produce 3 million metric tons (t) of the chemical annually by 2030. A Moller division, the shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk, has begun powering some of its vessels with green methanol.

Vioneo plans to begin front-end engineering for the Antwerp project by the end of the year. It expects to make a final investment decision in 2025 and, assuming a green light, to open a 300,000 t per year polymer plant in 2028. The plant would save at least 1.5 million t per year of CO₂ emissions compared with a facility that makes polymers from fossil fuels, Vioneo says.

Former Clariant CEO Jan Secher has been named Vioneo’s chairman. Alex Hogan, the former business director of Ineos Olefins and Polymers is set to start as the firm’s CEO on Nov. 11. Ineos is planning its own facility in Antwerp that will make the polymer raw material ethylene from ethane imported from the US.

Green methanol has the potential to be transformational in reducing the carbon footprint of plastics, according to a report published in July by the Dutch bank ING. But the bank warns that the process could be up to four times as expensive as making plastics from fossil fuels. ING’s conclusion is that substantial subsidies will be required.

Moller concurs, saying the go-ahead for the project will depend on policies that support fossil-free plastics as well as better conditions for the European chemical industry, such as lower energy costs. Vioneo says it is already in discussions to sell its plastics to major brands from sectors including health care, auto manufacturing, beauty, and home products.

Vioneo aims to ensure that its supply chain is traceable and fully segregated from any fossil fuel products. In contrast, the mass balance approach being adopted by chemical producers such as Ineos and BASF allows for a portion of a plant’s output to be certified as recycled or biobased as long as a corresponding amount of sustainable raw material has been added.