Towngas and Royal Vopak to expand green methanol supply chain network
In China the Hong Kong and China Gas Company Ltd (Towngas) and Vopak China Management Co., Ltd (Royal Vopak) have recently signed a strategic framework cooperation agreement to collaborate in areas such as green methanol production, storage, bunkering, and trading. Focusing on the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and Asia-Pacific markets, both parties are joining forces to expand an efficient green methanol supply chain network and support the shipping industry’s low-carbon transition.
According to a statement, the two parties will capitalise on their respective strengths to expand the supply network of green methanol.
Towngas employs proprietary technology to convert agricultural and forestry waste as well as scrap tyres into green methanol, and has obtained multiple international certifications and provides a sufficient supply of green methanol for maritime fuel bunkering.
Royal Vopak is a leading global independent liquid bulk infrastructure and service provider with an international network of tank farms and terminals. In China, the company has established terminals and storage tank farms in nine major coastal provinces, with storage tank capacity exceeding 3.5 million m3.
Develop green methanol supply chain
Together, the two parties will achieve efficient resource allocation and ship green methanol to the Greater Bay Area, East China, South China, and the broader Asia-Pacific markets, further expanding the green methanol supply chain network.
Towngas and Royal Vopak will further develop multiple areas of regional cooperation, including in the Greater Bay Area.
By leveraging the strengths of the ports in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, the partnership will focus on “production and storage synergy” as its core to strengthen cooperation around logistics and terminal facility construction, and to build an integrated green methanol storage and transportation network.
In East China, the two parties will centre their collaboration in Shanghai and Ningbo, two major international ports, to further strengthen cooperation in logistics storage and bunkering facility construction to meet the growing demand for green fuels at both ports.
Target Asia-Pacific markets
In the Bohai Bay region, with Tianjin as the strategic hub, Towngas will transport green methanol produced at its northern China production base to Royal Vopak’s local storage tank farm, then achieve resource allocation through Royal Vopak’s distribution network, supporting the supply of green methanol from northern China to the national and Asia-Pacific markets.
The two parties will also target key export markets, such as Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, and South Korea, to accelerate overseas expansion and boost the market competitiveness of clean energy in the Asia-Pacific region.
Sham Man-fai, Towngas CEO – Green Fuel and Chemicals, stated that this collaboration is expected to harness resource integration and complementary strengths to grasp the opportunities presented by green energy.
Towngas has recently completed a 6,000-tonne green methanol bunkering project, the largest in Asia. It was completed with the support of Royal Vopak’s Tianjin storage tank farm facilities, laying a solid foundation for this partnership. Towngas’s Inner Mongolia green methanol plant is set to increase its annual capacity from 100,000 tonnes to 150,000 tonnes by the end of this year, with plans to further expand to 300,000 tonnes by 2028. Together with Royal Vopak’s storage and terminal services infrastructure and coastal port network, the two parties will build a comprehensive green methanol supply chain network, Sham Man-fai said.
Looking ahead, Towngas will further enhance production capacity through its green methanol platform, planning to further establish multiple green methanol production plants across the Chinese mainland, targeting an annual capacity of one million tonnes to prepare for large-scale green methanol applications.
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