Towngas partners with Global Energy to set up green methanol supply chain

Hong Kong and China Gas Company (Towngas) has joined forces with Singapore’s Global Energy Trading to work on advancing the supply and distribution of green methanol as a marine fuel.

To this end, the two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly develop the green methanol supply chain across Asia.

The collaboration envisions integrating the two partners’ production and logistics capabilities to deliver holistic, end-to-end solutions at major and regional ports.

Commenting on the collaboration, Sham Man-fai, Chief Operating Officer – Green Fuels & Chemicals of Towngas, said: “This partnership represents a significant milestone in the green transition of maritime fuel supply. By combining Towngas’s strengths in green methanol production with Global Energy’s supply chain management and market operation expertise, we are creating a robust platform to accelerate the shipping industry’s decarbonisation journey.”

Loh Hong-leong, Managing Director of Global Energy, added: “This collaboration is synergy in motion; together we are creating a one-stop bunkering solution to ensure green methanol is more accessible to the maritime industry. Beyond supply, we could offer advisory on compliance and in managing the benefits of using green methanol.”

Towngas owns a methanol production plant in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, employing proprietary technology to convert biomass and municipal waste into green methanol. This is said to be the first enterprise on the Chinese mainland to achieve ISCC EU and ISCC PLUS certifications for green methanol.

The company intends to establish additional production bases across China, including in Inner Mongolia, the Greater Bay Area, and Hainan, with the goal of achieving an annual production capacity of 1 million tonnes of green fuel and chemical supplies.

In late 2024, Towngas partnered with bunker service provider Chimbusco Pan Nation Petro-Chemical (CPN) to develop domestic and international green methanol marine fuel markets and promote Hong Kong as a green marine fuel center.

Pressing on with strategies to advance sustainable maritime fuel solutions, Global Energy has recently signed an MoU with Singapore Methanol to develop and promote bio-methanol as a commercially viable, eco-friendly bunker fuel option, with an overall aim to support the decarbonization of the shipping industry.

Global Energy is known as the first company in Singapore to own and operate dedicated bunkering tankers for methanol and has already conducted a number of methanol bunkering operations in the region.

The company reported delivering over 4.7 million tonnes of marine fuels in 2024.