Calix Limited announced that the Solar Methanol Project (the Project), of which it is a consortium member, has been awarded funding to develop the production of sustainable fuels from captured process CO2 emissions. As announced by the Hon Chris Bowen MP, Minister for Climate Change and Energy on 27 January, the "HyGATE" Solar Methanol Project has been awarded AUD 19.48 million from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and 13.2 million (AUD 20.19 million) from Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to develop a world-first green methanol demonstration plant in Port Augusta, South Australia. The Solar Methanol Project Exporting green hydrogen produced in Australia to Germany offers the promise of leveraging Australia's abundant renewable energy resources to help the decarbonisation of German industry.

Methanol is a versatile hydrogen derivative and has the potential to act as an effective green hydrogen carrier. Its clean and economical synthesis could help enable the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate transport sectors such as aviation and shipping. In addition to Calix, the Solar Methanol Project consortium includes Australian cleantech company Vast Solar and leading engineering and consultancy firm Fichtner, and is supported by the Australian Solar Thermal Institute.

The Project aims to integrate several innovative low emission technologies to source renewable power and process heat, green hydrogen electrolysis, and, with Calix's Leilac technology, renewably powered electric calcination of limestone and the efficient capture of unavoidable process CO2 emissions. The Project intends to renewably power a 10MW electrolyser to produce green hydrogen, and a lime plant that produces CO2 as an unavoidable process emission. The clean energy, hydrogen and CO 2 will then be used to synthesise up to 7,500 tonnes per year of green methanol to be developed for use as a sustainable transport fuel.

The Project aims to be a catalyst for a solar methanol industry in Australia, with the potential to significantly scale domestic green fuel use as well as potential exports to Germany and other global markets.