Nextchem awarded contract for Pacifico Mexinol methanol facility
Engineering firm Maire has announced that Nextchem’s subsidiary KT Tech has been awarded a licensing contract for the implementation of its proprietary NX AdWinMethanol Zero technology for Pacifico Mexinol, an ultra-low carbon methanol facility near Los Mochis, Sinaloa, on the Pacific coast of Mexico, with an output in excess of 2.1 million tonnes/year.
Transition Industries LLC, a company based in Houston, Texas, is a developer of world-scale, ultra-low carbon emissions methanol and hydrogen facilities in North America. Transition Industries is jointly developing Pacifico Mexinol with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.
When it initiates operation in 2028, Pacifico Mexinol is expected to be the largest single ultra-low carbon methanol facility in the world – producing approximately 350,000 tonnes of green methanol and 1.8 million tonnes of blue methanol annually from natural gas with carbon capture.
The value of the licensing award, which will be partly recognised upfront and partly at Final Investment Decision, is in the low tens of million euro, in line with transactions of this kind. The whole package is estimated to be about EUR250 million, also including the basic engineering, proprietary and critical equipment supply, as well as assistance to commissioning, start-up and operation of the facility.
The NX AdWinMethanol Zero technology developed by GasConTec, Nextchem’s subsidiary dedicated to low-carbon hydrogen and methanol solutions, integrates its proprietary Autothermal Reforming (ATR) process and methanol synthesis loop and proprietary CO2 capture technologies. This technology further minimises carbon emissions to nearly zero by converting captured CO2 and green hydrogen into ultra-low-carbon methanol.
Ultra-low carbon methanol can be used to facilitate the decarbonisation of the hard to abate chemicals sectors. The methanol produced by Pacifico Mexinol will facilitate the decarbonisation of hundreds of downstream everyday products, including plastics, paints, car parts and construction materials.
