SunGas Renewables is investing $2bn in a new plant to produce green methanol for container ship giant AP Moller-Maersk.
The US company has set up Beaver Lake Renewable Energy to build the facility in central Louisiana.
The plant will produce 400,000 tonnes of the eco fuel per year, creating 100 jobs when operational from 2027.
Construction will begin late next year.
The methanol will be produced using wood fibre from local sustainably managed forests.
The bunkers will have a negative carbon intensity through the capture of nearly 1m tonnes per year of CO2 produced by the project.
The site is the former International Paper facility in Rapides Parish.
“As the only state in the Gulf South with a climate action plan, Louisiana is a global leader in the energy transition, and companies like SunGas Renewables have taken notice,” governor John Bel Edwards said.
“I applaud SunGas Renewables for pursuing this massive investment that would create quality, high-paying jobs in central Louisiana for our talented workers. The state will continue to support the company’s efforts to bring it to completion,” he added.
Maersk signed a deal in late 2022 to buy up SunGas’ green methanol.
Net zero aim
Emma Mazhari, head of energy markets at Maersk, said the project is helping to deliver valuable services to customers and is aligned with the aim of reaching net zero greenhouse emissions by 2040.
“Together, as pioneers in the field, SunGas and Maersk are driving a much-needed transition in a heavy pollution industry. We hope that work can be accelerated further in the years to come,” she added.
SunGas is a spin-out of GTI Energy.
Its chief executive Robert Rigdon said: “Using biomass from sustainably managed forestry along with carbon capture allows our project to generate green marine shipping fuel while simultaneously removing carbon from the atmosphere.”
