China–Iceland cooperation on CO2 to  renewable methanol: "we need to build on each other's strengths" - video Dailymotion

CGTN Europe

CGTN Europe interviewed Ómar Sigurbjörnsson, Director of Methanol Market Services, Carbon Recycling International in Iceland

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00:00As countries race to cut emissions, Iceland is turning captured CO2 into methanol, a cleaner fuel for transport and industry.

00:08With China hosting its only commercial-scale plant, the partnership is seen as a model for global green cooperation.

00:15Our correspondent Li Jianhua spoke to Omar Sigur Bordeson from the Icelandic company Carbon Recycling International,

00:22which developed the technology to produce renewable methanol.

00:25I think we can explain it in a sense that you can utilize any type of carbon emission, carbon dioxide source,

00:33where you can capture it and then you can directly react it together with hydrogen,

00:38made from either renewable energy sources or recovered from byproduct or waste gas streams.

00:43So our process is the first commercialized process to convert this directly into a liquid called renewable methanol,

00:51and this is then used for chemical production or as a fuel.

00:55And how big is the market now?

00:58The market is growing.

01:00So we have built two plants already and we see an increasing demand for this technology.

01:06So today we expect the market to grow to around 3 to 7 million tons of methanol in the next five years.

01:13And over a longer time horizon, until 2050,

01:15the International Renewable Energy has projected that this could be about double the current methanol market,

01:22which is around 100 million tons today.

01:24Let's talk about your company's cooperation with China.

01:27China hosts your company's only commercial scale carbon dioxide tube methanol plants.

01:33And what do you think it means to China and to your company and why you have such a big presence in the country?

01:41Well, we would say that, you know, China is an excellent place to start.

01:45They are fast moving.

01:46They are investing heavily into renewable energy sources, energy efficiency,

01:50and it's the world's largest market for methanol.

01:52And we can see from our experience, coming from a small country with an abundance of renewable energy,

01:58we can have an impact by transforming this technology and applying it into different applications,

02:04different markets, where there is a real benefit and a scale potential that has an impact

02:09to help us meet our goals for climate neutrality and energy transition.

02:15China and Iceland have released a joint statement on strengthening cooperation on geothermal energy and green transition today

02:23because the president of Iceland is in China now.

02:26What do you think it means to your company and your business?

02:30It's quite positive, of course, for us to be seen as a valued partner in these matters.

02:36We think solving these large challenges that we have for energy transition and global climate change,

02:43we need to have cooperation, we need to have learning exchanges from both cultures

02:49and to sort of build on each other's strength to have a real impact.

02:54And are we expecting some new projects, maybe?

02:57Yes, we expect to be announcing some projects.

02:59There is already a project now under construction, which we expect to start next year,

03:03which will be the first of its kind, using wind power and biomass at a large scale, largest of its kind.

03:09And then we'll be using it as an alternative fuel for ships, for container vessels

03:15that are transporting our materials between Asia and Europe, for example.

03:19Renewable energy is crucial to carbon recycling technology, isn't it?

03:24Because constantly you need some renewable energy input.

03:28So that is part of the reason why you have more projects in China right now.

03:32Yes, they are leading in the investment in these technologies and deploying of solar and wind.

03:38We see this technology as a way to capture this energy when it is in remote areas,

03:43to convert it into a liquid that is easy to store and transport

03:47and can access also a higher value market in other regions of the world.

China–Iceland cooperation on CO2 to renewable methanol: "we need to build on each other's strengths"

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