Denmark’s European Energy mulls €1Bn investment in Portugal

 In Green economy, Green energy, Green methanol, News

Portugal has been selected as one of the possible countries suitable for the expansion plans of European Energy, a Danish company that manufactures green methanol, according to the business daily Jornal de Negócios.

The green energy company is currently building what will be the largest green methanol plant in the world at Kasso in Southern Denmark in a €400 million investment for a project that should be completed and ready for production in Q3 of 2024.

The plant will have an annual production capacity of 42,000 tonnes of e-methanol (50 million litres) sold to multinationals like the container shipping line Maersk, the pharma company Novo Nordisk and the manufacturer Lego for a price of €1000 per tonne.

Now, because of is deep water ports, Portugal is a possible site to install a new green methanol plant.

European Energy is also eyeing investments in Spain, looking at four regions: Andalusia, Aragon, Catalonia and Galicia.

Further afield, European Energy is also looking at production sites in the United Staes (to be decided in 2025 after the elections) and Brazil.

In Portugal, exploratory talks had already been held with the previous PS party socialist government but so far discussions have not been arranged with current Prime Minister Luís Montenegro.

The Danish company is looking at the ports of Aveiro, Figueira da Foz and Setúbal as the best sites to export e-methanol that would be produced locally.

As for partnerships, the company must first secure supplies of biogenic CO2 to use in the new plant and is already in advanced discussions with a short list of two or three companies, particularly the large paper paste and pulp manufacturers, but has not revealed which.

However, according to Negócios, paper maker The Navigator Company would neither confirm nor deny that it had been approached by European Energy but did say it was looking into investments in projects to produce e-methanol and e-jet fuel. Both are distinct projects using different technologies and partners, although both need biogenic CO2.

And despite last year’s political crisis from Public Ministry police investigation Operational Influencer over multi-million green energy and data centre contracts in Setúbal which brought down the previous government, European Energy says it is still interested in investing in Portugal by possibly building two plants at a cost of €2Bn.