Repsol to invest more than €800 million in renewable methanol plant in Spain

Spanish energy giant Repsol has approved a more than €800 million investment in renewable methanol project Ecoplant in Tarragona.

This facility will, reportedly, become the first plant in Europe to produce renewable and circular methanol from waste through gasification. As disclosed, it will have the capacity to process up to 400,000 tons of municipal solid waste per year and turn it into 240,000 tons of renewable fuels and circular products.

The start-up of the Ecoplant is scheduled for 2029 and is expected to result in the creation of 340 direct, indirect and induced jobs, as well as some 2,800 jobs during the construction phase.

According to Repsol, the facility will be integrated into its industrial complex in Tarragona to take advantage of existing infrastructures and accelerate the transformation of the center into a multi-energy hub.

It is worth mentioning that the project has been selected by the European Union (EU) to receive funding from the Innovation Fund program due to its potential to reduce emissions.

The EU seeks to gradually reduce the carbon intensity of energy used in maritime transport by 40% by 2030, from 2018 levels, and by 75% by 2050, compared to 2020 levels. At present, the most efficient options for meeting these objectives are said to be renewable diesel, which Repsol already manufactures at its Cartagena plant, and renewable methanol, which will be manufactured at the Ecoplant.

“These technologies are complementary to meet the demand of maritime transport and are technologically mature for implementation, compared to other alternatives such as renewable hydrogen, ammonia, or the electrification of marine propulsion systems, which still require development and large investments in fleet renewal and fuel distribution,” Repsol claimed.

To note, the Spanish giant has the ambition to lead the production of renewable fuels in the Iberian Peninsula. The company aims to produce between 1.5 and 1.7 million tons annually in 2027 and up to 2.7 million tons per year in 2030 (including renewable hydrogen and biomethane).