Shanghai’s first 100,000-ton/year green methanol project has been officially put into operation

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On the morning of December 29, the commissioning ceremony for Shanghai’s first 100,000-ton green methanol production project was held grandly at Shanghai Huayi Industrial Gas Co., Ltd. This key project, jointly developed by four major state-owned enterprises in Shanghai – Huayi Group, Shenneng Group, Shanghai Urban Investment Group, and Shanghai Port Group – saw the start of pile driving in January this year and successful commissioning by the end of December, achieving the \"Shanghai speed\" of starting construction in the same year, completing it in the same year, and putting it into operation in the same year. It has also provided strong impetus for the development of Shanghai as an international shipping hub as well as for its transition toward a green and low-carbon economy. The project actively responds to Shanghai’s efforts to build capabilities for the production and supply of green methanol, by innovatively converting urban waste into green methanol fuel that is in high demand in the international shipping industry, thus truly turning waste into treasure. As a model of collaborative innovation among state-owned enterprises in Shanghai, the completion and operation of this project not only provides an important source of green fuel for the Shanghai Port, but also marks a key step forward for Shanghai in establishing a green energy industry chain and promoting decarbonization in the shipping sector. The project is built and operated by Shanghai Huayi Energy & Chemical Co., a subsidiary of Huayi Group. From the blueprint stage to completion and operation, the project team upheld the \"three innovations\" mindset of Hua Yi employees – the willingness to start businesses, the courage to innovate, and the enthusiasm for creation – overcame numerous challenges, and achieved the remarkable \"Hua Yi speed\". For Shanghai Huayi Energy Chemical Co., this is not only the success of a single project, but also a new starting point for the company’s transition from traditional coal-based chemical manufacturing to green, low-carbon energy solutions. In September 2025, the Shanghai 100,000-ton green methanol project, jointly developed by four municipal state-owned enterprises namely SHENENG Group, Urban Investment Group, HUAYI Group, and SHANGHAI PORT Group, reached an important milestone: the project obtained dual certification for the entire process – from raw material supply to methanol production, as well as for storage, transportation, and refueling – under the ISCC EU and PLUS standards. Its average carbon emission intensity is over 80% lower than that of methanol produced from fossil fuels, at 94 gCO2eq/MJ; this makes it capable of meeting the fueling needs of international ships at Shanghai Port, thereby contributing significantly to the development of Shanghai as an international shipping hub. This project is Shanghai’s first local green methanol production facility. It is also the largest project in China for producing green methanol from biogas, and globally, it is the largest facility that uses waste materials such as wet waste from a single city as raw material to produce green methanol. The eleven certification certificates currently obtained by the project cover the green methanol raw material supply side at SHENENG Group’s biomass facility in Langxia Town, Jinshan District, and at the Chengtou Group’s ecological protection facility in Laogang; the green methanol production side at HUAYI Group; as well as the green methanol trading, storage, and refueling aspects handled by SHENENG Group and SHANGGANG Group. This signifies that Shanghai’s 100,000-ton capacity green methanol project has obtained the \"green pass\" necessary to enter the global market and carry out refueling operations at Shanghai Port.