Liquid Wind gets environmental permit for third e-fuel facility in Sweden

Swedish e-fuel plant developer Liquid Wind has received an environmental permit from the Land and Environmental Court in Umeå for its third large-scale e-fuel production facility in Sweden, FlagshipTHREE.

The facility, which will be built in cooperation with Swedish Umeå Energi and connected to the cogeneration plant Dåvaverket, is expected to be ready for production in 2027.

According to Liquid Wind, FlagshipTHREE will capture 230,000 tons of carbon dioxide and produce up to 130,000 tons of e-methanol annually. It will, reportedly, be one of the largest industrial investments to date in Umeå.

Claes Fredriksson, CEO and Founder of Liquid Wind, commented: “The received permit marks a significant milestone in our journey and ambition to reduce dependency on fossil fuels in the hard-to-abate sectors such as shipping and aviation. This project exemplifies our dedication to pioneering innovative technologies for eFuel production, which are crucial in shaping a greener future.”

Jan Ridfeldt, CEO of Umeå Energi, said: “It is gratifying that the eFuel facility project has passed this milestone. We now look forward to the next steps in developing a cutting-edge facility that contributes to converting carbon dioxide into eMethanol. This is completely in line with our and our owners’, the Municipality of Umeå, climate goals and with the ambitions for the location.”

To remind, Liquid Wind’s first e-fuel project, FlagshipONE, is Europe’s first commercial-scale green e-fuel facility with a final investment decision (FID) in place. It was acquired by Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted in December 2022.

The second facility, FlagshipTWO, is being developed in cooperation with energy services provider Sundsvall Energi. Swedish-Finnish company AFRY provided basic engineering for the balance of the plant.

In other news, Liquid Wind and Finnish energy company Turun Seudun Energiantuotanto (TSE) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the development of an e-fuel facility in Naantali, Finland.

Once operational, this e-fuel facility is expected to produce 100,000 tons/a of e-methanol made from green hydrogen and biogenic CO2. The final investment decision (FID) is planned for 2026, and the facility is expected to be operational in 2029.

It is worth mentioning that in November 2024, Liquid Wind secured €44 million in Series C financing to support the development of e-fuel facilities. The raise, which is said to be one of the largest funding rounds in Europe for e-fuels in 2024, was led by Uniper, HYCAP Fund I SCSp and Samsung Ventures.

The developer said the financing will help meet the increasing demand for low-carbon fuels in the shipping industry and support the development of ten e-fuel facilities by 2027 as part of the company’s vision of reaching 500 facilities globally by 2050.