Enerkem, the first company in the world to produce bio-methanol from mixed waste at commercial scale, and Dimeta, a joint venture between two of the largest off-grid energy suppliers, are initiating studies for the development of two large scale projects that will convert waste into renewable and recycled carbon dimethyl ether (DME).
DME is a clean-burning fuel that can support decarbonisation of the off-grid energy sector, including heating, cooking, transport and industrial applications. As DME is chemically similar to Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), it can be blended with it up to 20% and ‘dropped-in’ to existing LPG supply chains, providing a seamless pathway to reducing emissions from the over 200 million tonnes of LPG used for energy each year globally.
The projects are expected to be located in Northwest Europe and in the Gulf Coast of the United States, with each project anticipated to produce approximately 165,000 tonnes of renewable and recycled carbon DME per year from mixed residual waste. The impact of the DME produced from the two projects combined would be the equivalent of significantly reducing the carbon footprint of over one million LPG heated homes, when it is blended in with LPG.
In addition to its commercial demonstration scale facility in operation in Alberta, Canada, Enerkem is currently involved in the development and building of new commercial scale waste-to-methanol facilities in both Canada and Europe. Enerkem will use the design and development of these facilities as the basis for the design of these new projects, combined with an additional methanol-to-DME synthesis step integrated at the end of the process.
“We are excited to collaborate with Enerkem to transform large volumes of non-recyclable waste into renewable & recycled carbon DME on a global scale. This partnership is another significant milestone in Dimeta’s journey. Enerkem has vast experience in the development of renewable solutions, and I look forward to seeing how we continue to revolutionize DME to deliver a greener future for off-grid communities.” says Frankie Ugboma, Chief Executive Officer of Dimeta.
“We are committed to supporting Dimeta in achieving their decarbonization goals. This development is an example of our technological platform’s flexibility as a key enabler for hard-to-abate sectors. Our joint projects can form the basis for further project developments globally within the off-grid energy market and are an opportunity to expand Enerkem’s waste-to-methanol platform,” adds Dominique Boies, Chief Executive Officer of Enerkem.
