Ørsted acquires full ownership of Europe’s largest green electrofuel project with FID in place

Swedish green electrofuels developer Liquid Wind has informed that its partner, Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted, will acquire full ownership of the FlagshipONE project, the largest green electrofuel facility in Europe that has reached a final investment decision (FID).

The project was developed and previously co-owned by Liquid Wind and Ørsted, which joined the project at the beginning of 2022 acquiring a 45% ownership share.

Ørsted has now taken the final investment decision on the project and plans to start onsite construction in the spring of 2023.

Back in September, the FlagshipONE project obtained an environmental permit from the Land and Environment Court in Umeå to build the first large-scale green electrofuel facility for the marine industry in the municipality of Örnsköldsvik in northeast Sweden.

Once operational in 2025, the project is expected to produce around 50,000 tonnes of e-methanol per year.

Commenting on the change in ownership, Claes Fredriksson, CEO and Founder of Liquid Wind, said: “At Liquid Wind we are thrilled to have reached this point together with Ørsted and Övik Energi. The fact that FlagshipONE will be the largest commercial-scale electrofuel plant in Europe is extra exciting as we are breaking new ground and hopefully inspiring others to also contribute to the decarbonisation of shipping. Coming together with our partners and investors we are committed to drastically grow the production of green electrofuel and reduce the world’s dependency on fossil fuels. Stay tuned for more to come.”

Mads Nipper, CEO of Ørsted, added that e-methanol is the best solution currently available to decarbonise hard-to-electrify sectors like global shipping, and with this first commercial-scale project, the company will break first ground on advancing its pipeline of e-methanol projects.

In August this year, Liquid Wind announced its plant to develop another commercial-scale electrofuel facility in Sweden with compatriot energy services provider Sundsvall Energi.

The FlagshipTWO project is expected to further strengthen Sweden’s position in the green transition while supporting local fossil-free fuel production. The facility will have twice the capacity compared to FlagshipONE in Örnsköldsvik, and will serve the maritime market.

Follow Offshore Energy’s Clean Fuel on social media: