The Catalyst Review June 2024 - 9

SPECIAL FEATURE
SPECIAL FEATURE
Here a stream of isotopically labeled hydrogen gas is passed over the catalyst first, and this is followed by a stream of standard
hydrogen gas. The extent of spillover and exchange of the labeled vs. unlabeled hydrogen is measured via infrared spectroscopy
or mass spectrometry (Salmi 2023).
The Impact of Improved Catalyst Performance & Looking Forward
Methanol has a large part to play in the sustainable energy transition, and improving the catalytic mechanisms involved in its
synthesis will therefore have an impact as well. Higher catalytic efficiencies improve the cost of production by lowering the energy
demand and increasing the production capacity of a given converter. Further R&D efforts focusing on optimizing the hydrogen
spillover mechanism and catalyst performance will be key in meeting futuremethanol demand.
Figure 4 Principal methanol production rates. Source: IRENA 2021
Figure 4 summarizes the different methods by
which methanol can be produced. Biomethanol
and e-methanol are the most sustainable
forms of methanol. To make these two forms
of green methanol economically viable
contributors to the energy transition, many
factors will be at play. Looking beyond the
methanol synthesis step and catalytic efficiency,
other major influencers on the economics
include feedstock costs, feedstock availability,
government policies and incentives, economies
of scale and cost of infrastructure. Current
costs of production for bio and e-methanol
are high, but mature costs are projected to
be in an acceptable range in comparison
with traditional fuels. IRENA estimates that by
2050, the production cost ranges will be the
mature cost levels shown in Figure 5. Scaling
up of plants, which are currently at a small
scale compared to traditional fuel plants,
would help to reach these mature production
cost levels, and carbon credits could help to
further reduce costs. E-methanol is projected
to be the best avenue for scaling up green
methanol production. Despite a higher cost to
produce compared to biomethanol, e-methanol
production has better feedstock availability and
more existing infrastructure (IRENA 2021).
Figure 5 Comparison of renewable methanol with other fuels on a price per
unit of energy basis. Note: exchange rate in this figure USD 1 = EUR 0.9. Fuel
costs and prices are averaged over 10 years. Source: IRENA 2021
The Catalyst Review
Methanol has many favorable qualities that
contribute to its potential to be a fuel of
the future. For example, it has the highest
hydrogen-to-carbon ratio of any liquid fuel.
Being a biodegradable and stable liquid fuel,
it is easily transported and stored. Existing
infrastructure for traditional flammable liquid
fuels could be easily converted for use with
liquid methanol. The transition to a more
sustainable fuel landscape will take significant
global investment and changes within the
energy industry, but methanol may provide a
relatively suitable plug and play option with
mature economics. eMethanol from increasing
amounts of CO2
available is increasingly an
June 2024
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The Catalyst Review June 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Catalyst Review June 2024