Profitable Production of Biomethanol from Low-Grade Waste
May 2, 2025 – Methanol could play a major role in the energy transition if it is no longer produced from fossil sources but instead from surplus agricultural and forestry waste, among other residual streams. The methanol market is projected to grow fivefold by 2050, reaching 500 million tons annually. Making production more sustainable could therefore make a significant contribution to reducing atmospheric CO₂. TNO, together with Norwegian company Equinor – Europe’s largest methanol producer – is exploring how gasification technology could support this transition.
TNO has developed gasification technology capable of producing biomethanol from residual streams such as agricultural waste and demolition wood. While its effectiveness has been demonstrated in the lab, scaling it up to profitable production remains a major challenge. That’s why collaboration is key. Equinor sees gasification as a crucial pathway for producing green methanol and is investigating a range of feedstocks, including woody waste streams.
