Averd and WasteFuel have formed a partnership to build the first commercial scale municipal waste-to-renewable methanol plant in the UAE.
The partnership was announced at the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) event organised as part of COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Although the site of the plant is still being explored, it is anticipated to be built at Jebel Ali in the UAE .
The plant will generate renewable methanol from unrecyclable waste currently being collected and disposed by Averda.
This renewable methanol can be used by shipping companies, thereby helping them to reduce up to 90% of CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases as against conventional fuels.
The world generates about 2.01 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste annually and this figure is anticipated to touch 3.40 billion tonnes by 2050.
Averda chief executive officer Malek Sukkar said: “This partnership will help to address climate change by diverting waste from landfill to produce renewable fuels. Averda is proud to partner with WasteFuel, another member of SMI, to bring this innovative and sustainable solution to the region, and to continue our journey towards a world without waste.”
WasteFuel co-founder, chairman and CEO Trevor Neilson said: “Addressing the climate emergency requires an exponential increase in renewable fuel supply. The Middle East, specifically Jebel Ali, is considered a gateway between the Western Hemisphere and the Far East. As WasteFuel works to produce green methanol to decarbonize shipping at scale, the opportunity to develop a biorefinery in partnership with Averda in the Middle East was an exciting and logical next step.”
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Image: The renewable methanol produced by the plant can be used by shipping companies. Credit: Valentin Schönpos from Pixabay.
