US firm to invest US$2.2bn in Mexican net-zero methanol facility

Mexico will get another major US investment for sustainable energy projects.

US firm Transition Industries, which focuses on developing, constructing and operating net-zero emissions methanol, hydrogen and ammonia facilities, and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation will team up to create the US$2.2bn Pacífico Mexinol project near Topolobampo, in Sinaloa state.

“Through this project, Pacífico Mexinol is expected to be the largest ultra-low carbon chemicals facility in the world, producing green methane from captured carbon and green hydrogen and blue methanol from natural gas with carbon capture,” US ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said in a statement. 

Construction is set to start next year, he said, adding that the announcement was made amidst the COP28 climate conference as part of North America’s shared environmental goals. 

The Mexinol plant “will produce more than 5,000 metric tons of methanol per day and be among the most environmentally friendly world-scale facilities on a global basis in terms of emissions, water resource efficiency, and environmental footprint,” according to Transition Industries’ website.

Output will be exported to markets in the Pacific basin, like that of the LNG facility that Mexico Pacific, another group comprising US funds and firms, will build in Sonora state’s Puerto Libertad.