Biomethanol is Gaining Ground in US too. And in Europe?

Bioethanol is traditionally associated with the Southern Hemisphere of the Americas, given Brazil’s long-standing history of producing and consuming ethanol for automotive fuel. In that region, the abundance of sugarcane justifies its conversion into biofuel.

This trend to diversification of biofuels is now moving up the Pacific Coast and reaching the United States, which, meanwhile, is also carving out a significant role on the international stage as an exporter of crude oil and fracked natural gas.

Perpetual Next USA to develop three biomethanol facilities in Southeastern U.S.

Each of the biomethanol facilities developed by the Dutch operator is designed to process approximately one million tons of sustainably sourced biomass feedstock per year. Development of the sites will commence in 2026. 

Europe’s FuelEU Program

With the introduction of new governmental policies, such as Europe’s FuelEU program, and voluntary industry initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions, global demand for biomethanol is anticipated to grow substantially by 2050. This trend presents a considerable challenge regarding the pace at which the industry must scale new production facilities to meet future demand.

Perpetual Next anticipated the rapidly growing global demand for biomethanol and is currently rolling out its proprietary Biomethanol Blueprint across multiple production sites in Europe and the United States. The blueprint integrates torrefaction, gasification, and methanol synthesis technologies and is designed to enable rapid, serial scale-up to commercial scale biomethanol production for the global market.

The CEO of Perpetual Next statements

“Bio-methanol is a key building block in the transition to low-carbon fuels for shipping, chemicals and industry,” said Rene Buwalda, CEO at Perpetual Next. “Given the availability of feedstock and the related infrastructure which is very strong, we see a strong opportunity to accelerate responsible bio-methanol deployment in the southeastern United States through the roll-out of our Biomethanol Blueprint. It enables us to advance biomethanol as a practical, scalable solution for the energy and material transition.”

Perpetual Next is already working with a strong group of U.S.-based partners to support this rollout, including TSI, a recognized company in the feedstock handling industry, and Fluor, acting as Owner’s Engineer. “We will continue to work closely with selected regional and national partners during the rollout across the U.S.”, Buwalda added.