Developer European Energy has produced the first ever methanol certified as “renewable fuels of non-biological origin” (RFNBO) during the commissioning of its 52.5MW Kassø power-to-X facility in Denmark, the company said today (Tuesday).
The certification, granted by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) scheme, confirms that the molecules reach the EU’s strictest requirements.
Green hydrogen (or derivatives such as methanol or ammonia) produced or sold in the EU must qualify as RFNBO in order to access subsidies or favourable regulation, and ISCC is one of three official bodies accredited by the EU to verify that this is the case.
RFNBOs produced at Kassø will now be eligible for use under the EU’s FuelEU Maritime and ReFuelEU Aviation regulations, as well as in national quota systems. This provides “a clear roadmap for its future use”, European Energy said.
According to the EU’s RFNBO regulations, electricity sourced for green hydrogen production must be from renewables capacity that is less than three years old, and electrolyser operation must be matched on a monthly aggregate basis with real-time power production.
Any carbon used — the production of green methanol requires a single carbon molecule as well as green hydrogen — must qualify as either biogenic, or “avoided carbon dioxide”, ie, industrial emissions that would otherwise have been released into the atmosphere.
ISCC verified both electricity sourcing for green hydrogen production, and the origin of carbon dioxide used in the plant — in this case, from biogenic sources.
“The ISCC EU RNFBO certification is an important step in validating the renewable integrity of our e-methanol and ensuring it can support climate action across Europe,” said Rene Alcaraz Frederiksen, CEO of Solar Park Kassø, the company jointly owned by European Energy and Japanese conglomerate Mitsui that is developing the project.
Set to be Europe’s second-largest green hydrogen production facility when it completes commissioning next month, Kassø Power-to-X project will have an annual methanol production capacity of 42,000 tonnes per year.
The project is set to be supplied “mainly” by a nearby solar park owned by European Energy.
The only green hydrogen project larger is BASF’s facility at its Ludwigshafen complex in southwest Germany, which was commissioned last month.
