BP puts $10 million into green methanol start-up WasteFuel

WasteFuel converts municipal trash and agricultural waste into low-carbon fuels, renewable natural gas, and green methanol. [Image: Maersk]

Energy major BP has plans to deliver a 100,000 barrels of biofuel a day by 2030 to help decarbonize transportation. That target was announced yesterday by BP’s vice president of next generation biofuels, Philipp Schoelzel, as the company’s BP Ventures arm announced that has committed $10 million to lead the Series B investment round in WasteFuel, the California start-up that converts municipal trash and agricultural waste into low-carbon fuels, including bio-methanol.

Globally, solid waste production totals about 2 billion metric tons annually and is expected to increase to 3.4 billion metric tons by 2050.

Globally, solid waste production totals about 2 billion metric tons annually and is expected to increase to 3.4 billion metric tons by 2050. WasteFuel’s deployment of anaerobic digestion and methanol production technologies will convert municipal and agricultural waste into viable lower emission alternatives like bio-methanol.

BP says that with some of the biggest companies in the shipping industry converting to methanol-ready ships, it is working to establish supplies of lower carbon alternative fuels for the shipping sector and will look to use its trading expertise to bring WasteFuel’s bio-methanol to market.

WasteFuel plans to develop multiple bio-methanol plants around the world in collaboration with local strategic partners including waste companies. WasteFuel expects its first project will be in Dubai and the company has a pipeline of additional projects to develop. BP and WasteFuel have entered a memorandum of understanding for BP to offtake the produced bio-methanol and to work together to help optimize and improve bio-methanol production.

WasteFuel says that its technical collaboration with BP aims to improve bio-methanol production efficiency, yields and economics and that it will be able to leverage BP’s proprietary technology to help optimize and improve its production.

“Achieving decarbonization in shipping will require a step-change, and biofuels have a key role to play in helping the industry to decarbonize,” said Gareth Burns, vice president of BP Ventures.

• SP Global defines green methanol as “methanol produced via a process that emits zero or a minimal amount of GHGs, usually measured as an equivalent amount of CO2.” Green methanol produced from sustainable biomass, is typically called bio-methanol. Green methanol produced using carbon dioxide and hydrogen produced from renewable electricity is typically called e-methanol