Global tracked capacity for renewable and low-carbon methanol projects has reached 61.6 million tonnes by 2031, according to the latest update from the Global E-fuels and New Alternatives (Gena) Project Navigator: Methanol.

The tracker now covers 282 operational facilities and ongoing projects, comprising 132 e-methanol projects with a combined capacity of 24.9 million tonnes, 132 biomethanol projects with 25.6 million tonnes, and 18 low-carbon methanol projects with 11.2 million tonnes.

Six new projects — three e-methanol and three biomethanol — were added during the latest release, while five frozen projects were removed. Among the exclusions were four projects developed by Liquid Wind, a Swedish e-methanol developer that was declared bankrupt on May 11, 2026. Despite these removals, the total active development pipeline grew by approximately 0.6 million tonnes month on month.

China leads in construction activity

A biomethanol project in China signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract in May, and Gena estimates that more than 3 million tonnes of biomethanol and e-methanol capacity is currently under construction in the country.

China accounts for more than 31 million tonnes of the overall renewable and low-carbon methanol project pipeline. Biomass gasification dominates the Chinese pipeline, representing 61% of projects, with agricultural residues — including straw, rice husks and corn cobs — serving as the primary feedstocks. Around 74% of biomass gasification projects in China incorporate a hydrogen boost.

Europe and North America

Europe accounts for 10.4 million tonnes of renewable and low-carbon methanol projects, with e-methanol representing 71% of the regional pipeline and waste gasification projects making up 14%. According to Gena, approximately 79% of European projects use hydrogen as one of the feedstocks, encompassing both e-methanol and hybrid biomethanol — also referred to as bio-e-methanol — configurations.

North America accounts for more than 10 million tonnes of projects, with the pipeline consisting predominantly of low-carbon methanol projects based on natural gas reforming with carbon capture and storage (CCS). The region is also home to what Gena describes as the only large-scale biomass gasification plus CCS-to-methanol project currently tracked.

Capacity growth projections

Gena estimates that renewable methanol capacity could grow from 0.9 million tonnes in 2025 to 1.5 million tonnes by the end of 2026, rising to between 2.2 million tonnes and 2.4 million tonnes in 2027, and potentially reaching between 5 million tonnes and 12 million tonnes by 2030. According to Gena, the wide range for 2030 reflects uncertainty around demand growth and regulatory development, with projects outside this trajectory expected to be frozen or delayed beyond that year.