Vast and Mabanaft advance Port Augusta green methanol project in Australia
Vast Renewables Ltd., a renewable energy company planning to power green fuels production with its concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) energy systems, announced it has signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with global energy company Mabanaft to advance Solar Methanol 1 (SM1), a CSP-powered green methanol reference plant.
Located in South Australia at the Port Augusta Green Energy Hub, SM1 will have the capacity to produce 7,500 tpy of green methanol. Methanol is one of the most versatile hydrogen derivatives which, if produced using clean energy, has the potential to decarbonize several hard-to-abate industries, including shipping and aviation.
SM1 will be supplied with baseload renewable heat from Vast’s 30 MW/288 MWh CSP plant. Using CSP can potentially reduce green fuel production costs by up to 40% according to a recent report by engineering group Fichtner. The project’s success could unlock green fuels production in Australia, with potential for exports to Germany and other global markets.
The JDA sets out how the project will be developed and further underlines Vast and Mabanaft's contribution to the energy transition by combining technological, business development and commercial expertise. This comes after Vast and Mabanaft announced in February that they have signed funding agreements for SM1 for up to AUD $40 MM.
Vast will receive AUD $19.48 MM from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and Mabanaft will, subject to final investment decision, receive up to €12.4 MM from Projektträger Jülich (PtJ) on behalf of the German government, as part of HyGATE, a collaboration between the Australian and German governments to support real-world projects along the hydrogen supply chain.
Mabanaft is actively supporting its customers’ decarbonization by expanding its range of sustainable energy solutions. The JDA includes a framework agreement securing offtake rights for Mabanaft for future green fuels projects powered by Vast technology, allowing Mabanaft to supply its shipping customers seeking to decarbonize their operations.
Vast and Mabanaft are developing SM1 with the Solar Methanol Consortium and are supported by fellow Australian technology company Calix as Principal CO2 Supply Partner and the Australian Solar Thermal Research Institute (ASTRI).
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