Ørsted fully committed to its FlagshipONE e-methanol facility by taking final investment decision (FID) and full ownership in a significant step towards prominence in renewable hydrogen and green fuels, the company announced Dec. 20 in a press release. 

The company acquired the remaining 55% stake from Liquid Wind AB, reinforcing the company’s commitment to the FID and clean energy as the new owner of Europe’s largest FID green e-methanol facility. 

Located in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, the facility is expected to begin operations in 2025 to produce 50,000 tonnes of e-methanol a year. Ørsted hopes the project will help to decarbonize the world’s shipping industry.  

Onsite construction of FlagshipONE will begin spring 2023 at the Hörneborgsverket heat and power plant in Örnsköldsvik, operated by Övik Energi. Renewable electricity and biogenic CO₂ captured from Hörneborgsverket will produce FlagshipONE’s e-methanol. FlagshipONE will also use Hörneborgsverket’s steam, process water and cooling water. Any excess heat created during the e-methanol production process will be integrated into Övik Energi’s district heating supply. 

FlagshipONE is Ørsted’s first commercial-scale Power-to-X facility. The company is also developing Project Star in the Gulf Coast and Green Fuels for Denmark in Copenhagen to extend its Power-to-X presence in Europe and the U.S. and the shipping industry’s decarbonization efforts. 

Power-to-X are conversion technologies to sustainably produce energy with carbon-neutral synthetic fuels.

Ørsted hopes to move the Power-to-X market past ambitions and to the delivery of molecules to abate well-to-wake emissions, said CEO Olivia Breese, Ørsted Power-to-X. 

“At Ørsted, we’re once again ready to assume risk and lead the maturation of this crucial technology. However, the Power-to-X industry urgently needs supportive frameworks that enable the transition away from fossil fuels, and we call on policymakers to take action to match the climate ambitions of developers and shipping companies,” Breese said.