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On May 13, the world’s first commercial-scale electronic methanol plant was officially put into operation in Denmark, marking a significant leap for electronic methanol from laboratory research to industrial-scale production. The plant is located in Kassø in southern Denmark. It cost 150 million euros (1.2 billion yuan) and was developed and operated jointly by the Danish company European Energy and the Japanese company Mitsui; European Energy holds 51% of the shares, while Mitsui & Co. holds 49%. The Caso plant is the world’s first and currently the largest commercial electronic methanol production facility. European Energy Company said that the plant will produce 42,000 tons, or 53 million liters, of electronic methanol per year. The plant was designed, built, and commissioned by Power-to-X, a division of a European energy company, to produce green electronic methanol using renewable electricity and bio-carbon dioxide, thereby supporting the decarbonization of industries such as shipping and chemical manufacturing, which find it difficult to reduce their emissions. According to a press release from the European Energy Company, the purity of the latest batch of methanol tested at 99.85%, meeting the industry standards required for industrial use. Methanol is one of the most widely used and cleanest fuels. Electronic methanol refers to methanol produced by using renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power to generate green electricity, which is then used to electrolyze water to produce green hydrogen; this green hydrogen is subsequently combined with carbon dioxide to create methanol, making it a type of green methanol. The Kaso plant is located next to Northern Europe’s largest solar park – the 300-megawatt Kaso Solar Park – allowing it to make use of the abundant renewable energy sources available there for the production of green hydrogen. The European energy company is also developing carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies in southern Denmark through its subsidiary Ammongas, to collect biogenic carbon dioxide from Tønder Biogas, one of Europe’s largest biogas plants. The Cenne biogas facility uses carbon dioxide compression, dehydration, condensation, and liquefaction technologies to ensure that the captured carbon dioxide meets the highest industry standards. Liquefied carbon dioxide is the key raw material for producing electronic methanol at the Cassio plant. By combining bio-based carbon dioxide with green hydrogen produced on-site, the carbon footprint of electronic methanol produced at the Casio plant can be reduced by up to 97% compared to fossil-based products. On April 8 this year, the Cassino plant received certification for the production of electric methanol under the EU’s new sustainable development framework for renewable fuels. This certification is the first of its kind in the methanol production sector; it is issued under the EU International Sustainable Development and Carbon Certification (ISCC) scheme, confirming that the methanol produced at the Cassone plant meets the standards for non-biological renewable fuels (RFNBO) as defined in the Renewable Energy Directive. This means that the electronic methanol produced at the Cassino plant now meets the requirements of the EU’s FuelEU Maritime regulation and ReFuelEU Aviation regulation, providing a clear roadmap for its future use. Electronic methanol holds great potential for replacing traditional fossil fuels and their derivatives such as gasoline and kerosene, and can serve as an alternative energy source for road, maritime, and air transportation as well as other industries. According to Reuters, shipping giant Maersk will use electric methanol produced at the Carso plant to power the \"Laura Mærsk,\" which is the world’s first dual-fuel container ship capable of running on methanol. Maersk said that one of the biggest challenges in shifting to sustainable fuels is cost, and the company is exploring green fuel technologies and more efficient transportation methods to reduce the costs associated with this process. In addition to its use in the shipping industry, electronic methanol can also replace fossil methanol in plastic production. Toys company Lego and pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk also plan to purchase the green methanol produced at the Casio plant. The LEGO Group will use electronic methanol to produce the durable hard plastic components in its product portfolio ； Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk plans to use electronic methanol to produce medical devices such as insulin pens. Furthermore, the excess heat generated by the Caso plant’s production of electronic methanol will also be used to heat 3,300 local households.