Kassø eMethanol facility in Denmark officially inaugurated

Photo: European Energy

The Kassø eMethanol facility in Aabenraa, Denmark, has been officially inaugurated and is now supplying eMethanol to offtakers, the developer European Energy announced May 13.

Developed by European Energy and operated in collaboration with Mitsui & Co., the facility is owned by Solar Park Kassø ApS under Kassø MidCo ApS, with European Energy A/S holding a 51 percent stake and Mitsui & Co. 49 percent.

The Kassø eMethanol facility is supplying eMethanol to industry leaders including A.P. Moller-Maersk, the LEGO Group and Novo Nordisk.

These companies have a shared ambition to adopt lower-carbon solutions.

The Kassø facility is the first of its kind globally to produce eMethanol at commercial scale, according to European Energy.

The plant has an annual production capacity of 42,000 metric tons and operates entirely on renewable energy sources.

Situated next to Northern Europe’s largest solar park—the 304-megawatt Kassø Solar Park—the facility integrates large-scale renewable power generation with carbon capture and utilization.

By combining biogenic CO2 with green hydrogen produced onsite, the Kassø eMethanol facility manufactures eMethanol with up to a 97 percent reduced carbon footprint compared to fossil-based products.

The project is designed to support the direct decarbonization of sectors that are otherwise difficult to electrify.

A.P. Moller-Maersk will use eMethanol produced at Kassø to fuel Laura Mærsk, the world’s first container vessel capable of operating on methanol.

The eMethanol from the facility will also be used in industrial processes where fossil-based methanol has traditionally been standard.

One such application is in plastics, where manufacturers aim to adopt more sustainable materials while maintaining safety and quality standards.

The LEGO Group and Novo Nordisk are also offtakers of eMethanol from Kassø, using it to replace fossil methanol in the production of selected products.

Mitsui & Co. has contributed strategic expertise and global reach to support the facility’s long-term development and operation.

The collaboration between European Energy and Mitsui reflects a shared ambition to accelerate commercial pathways for Power-to-X technologies and expand the use of low-emission alternatives in hard-to-abate sectors globally.

“The start of operations at Kassø marks a major step forward in bringing Power-to-X technologies into real-world use,” said Knud Erik Andersen, CEO of European Energy. “This is renewable energy in action, transforming how we use electricity.”

Takashi Furutani, a senior executive managing officer at Mitsui & Co., said, “We are honored to play a pivotal role in advancing this pioneering project, which fosters integrated approaches across product value chains as part of our global energy-transition strategy. Kassø exemplifies the importance of international collaboration in scaling low-emission solutions.”

Rabab Raafat Boulos, the executive vice president and chief operating officer at Maersk, added, “We are excited to receive the first eMethanol from the Kassø facility, marking an important milestone in our global efforts to source alternative fuels for our vessel fleet. The future of shipping must include multiple fuel types operating alongside each other, with methanol playing a key role in the industry’s net-zero ambitions.”

European Energy develops, finances, constructs and operates wind and solar farms as well as Power-to-X facilities.

Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, the company is developing projects in 25 countries.

Founded in 2004, European Energy has a development pipeline of more than 65 gigawatts of renewable energy projects.