Project AIR receives EUR 30 million from the Swedish Energy Agency
Project is carried out by chemical group Perstorp in cooperation with Uniper and Fortum
AIR will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 500,000 tons annually
The Swedish Project AIR has been allocated with approximately EUR 30 million by the Swedish Energy Agency. AIR is an industrial concept to produce methanol from a large variety of recovered end-of-life streams and hydrogen from electrolysis. The project is carried out by the chemical group Perstorp in cooperation with Uniper and Fortum, and the aim is to reduce carbon emissions with up to half million tons annually.
The Project AIR will demonstrate a highly innovate, integrated process concept for low-carbon, renewable and circular methanol production within the European energy-intensive chemical sector. Methanol is one of the most important raw materials for the chemical industry, and up until now, no competitive sources of sustainable methanol exist on the market.
The plan is to create the first-of-a-kind, large-scale, commercial, sustainable methanol plant that uses a Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) process for converting CO2, residue streams, renewable hydrogen and biomethane to methanol. The renewable hydrogen will be produced in a new electrolysis plant, which will be the world’s largest hydrogen electrolysis unit installed for production in the chemical sector.
In March earlier this year, Project AIR was approved for the next level of evaluation within the frame of the EU Innovation Fund, one of the world’s largest funding programs for the demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies.
David Bryson, COO Uniper, says: “With Project AIR, we have all the prerequisites to create a concept that can seriously help the chemical industry to become climate neutral. With the Swedish Energy Agency's announcement, we have taken an important step on the way to securing financing. Opportunities for national or EU-supported funding and strong partners with clear and common goals, are two important criteria for Uniper to enter into major hydrogen projects. In that perspective, I see Project AIR as a model project.”
Project AIR aims to substitute all the 200,000 tons of fossil methanol that Perstorp uses annually in Europe as a raw material for chemical products. The project would support companies downstream in the value chains in their efforts towards renewable/circular materials, reduced carbon footprints, and in their ability to offer sustainable, affordable products.
If completed, Project AIR will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 500,000 tons annually. The goal is to start producing sustainable methanol in 2025. A final decision on what projects will be funded by the EU Innovation Fund is expected later this year.
About Uniper
Uniper is an international energy company with around 12,000 employees in more than 40 countries. The company plans to make its power generation CO2-neutral in Europe by 2035. With about 35 GW of installed generation capacity, Uniper is among the largest global power generators. Its main activities include power generation in Europe and Russia as well as global energy trading, including a diversified gas portfolio that makes Uniper one of Europe’s leading gas companies. In 2020, Uniper had a gas turnover of more than 220 bcm. Uniper is also a reliable partner for municipalities, public utilities, and industrial companies for developing and implementing innovative, CO2-reducing solutions on their way to decarbonizing their activities. As a pioneer in the field of hydrogen, Uniper has set itself the target of operating worldwide along the entire value chain in the future and implementing projects that will make hydrogen the mainstay of the future energy supply.
The company is headquartered in Düsseldorf and currently the third-largest listed German utility. Together with its main shareholder Fortum, Uniper is also the third-largest producer of CO2-free energy in Europe.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Uniper SE Management and other information currently available to Uniper. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. Uniper SE does not intend, and does not assume any liability whatsoever, to update these forward-looking statements or to modify them to conform with future events or developments.
