News and Articles

• SunGas Renewables halted development of its Beaver Lake Biofuels project in central Louisiana on June 18
• The plant carried an estimated $2 billion investment and had targeted startup as early as 2028
• Beaver Lake was designed to produce about 553,000 metric tons a year of low carbon methanol and store 1.1 million metric tons a year of biogenic carbon dioxide
• SunGas cited slower than expected demand for low carbon marine methanol and unresolved carbon capture and financing conditions
• The project had previously been linked to a letter of intent with Maersk for close to 400,000 metric tons a year of green methanol
• SunGas will continue marketing its S1000 gasification technology to other developers despite the Beaver Lake halt

SunGas Renewables said on June 18 that it will stop developing its Beaver Lake Biofuels project, a planned wood fiber to low carbon methanol facility in central Louisiana near Alexandria. The company had been pursuing an estimated $2 billion investment for the plant, which was expected to begin operations as early as 2028.

Beaver Lake's design called for three SunGas S1000 syngas production systems paired with downstream technology to produce about 553,000 metric tons a year of low carbon methanol, along with geological storage of roughly 1.1 million metric tons a year of biogenic carbon dioxide. The company said the combination of scale and low carbon intensity had supported a globally competitive bio-methanol offering as decarbonization requirements tighten across shipping, aviation and chemicals.

SunGas said the decision reflected a combination of factors that affected the project's ability to advance on its required timetable, including slower than expected market adoption of low carbon marine fuels and low carbon methanol specifically, uncertainty over the carbon capture and storage pathway for the project, and a lack of clarity on the regulatory support and financing conditions needed for a project of that scale.

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Chief executive Robert Rigdon said the company continues to believe low carbon methanol can help decarbonize the maritime, aviation and chemicals industries, but that given current regulatory uncertainty, slower customer uptake and broader financing and infrastructure constraints, the conditions needed to move the project forward successfully are not in place. Rigdon added that the company remains grateful to the partners who supported the project and that the decision does not change its confidence in the long-term potential of its underlying technology to produce low cost, low carbon methanol, sustainable aviation fuel and other transportation fuels.

The Beaver Lake project had previously been linked to shipping line Maersk under a letter of intent for strategic green methanol production, when the facility was expected to generate close to 400,000 metric tons a year of green methanol for marine fuel. SunGas said it will continue marketing its S1000 gasification technology to third party developers and remains involved in other renewable fuels projects covering green methanol, renewable natural gas, hydrogen and related low carbon energy products.