Gasified Farm Waste + Green Hydrogen = Green Methanol: Longi’s $325 Project in China’s Inner Mongolia Aims for 400,000 Tons of Green Methanol Per Year

     Chinese electrolyzer and solar panel manufacturer Longi Green Energy has begun construction on a $325 million plant in the Inner Mongolia region that will convert biomass from farm waste into green methanol by gasifying it and combining it with green hydrogen produced from its electrolyzers. The plan is to process 600,000 tons of farm waste, such as sunflower stalks and corn stover, into 400,000 tons of methanol. The electrolyzers will be powered by local wind and solar resources. Eventually, they plan to run 100 of Longi’s 5MW electrolyzers, for a total of 500 MW of electrolyzer capacity.

    The first phase of the project will convert 190,000 tons of agricultural waste into methanol using gasification and catalytic synthesis. In the second phase, an additional 210,000 tons will be converted. For Phase 2, there will be 54,000 tons of green hydrogen production annually via 850 MW of wind power and 200 MW of solar power. The company believes they can produce an annual output of $275 million and create about 1000 direct and indirect jobs.

     The biomass will be gasified, and the CO2 from the process will be captured and used with the hydrogen in the production of the methanol. Methanol is seen as a key component of decarbonizing hard-to-abate industries like shipping and heavy industry. Longi is involved in other similar projects in China to produce methanol from biomass waste and hydrogen. One $275 million plant in Henan Province began construction in April 2024 to process 600,000 tons of crop straw and forestry residues to produce 120,000 tons of methanal and 30 MW of electricity annually.

     In late 2024, Longi made an agreement to provide global shipping company Maersk with green bio-methanol. The long-term offtake agreement is expected to deliver first volumes in 2026. Maersk has a fleet of dual-fuel ships that run on methanol.

     Longi’s electrolyzers are shown below, along with a search engine summary of Longi’s green methanol projects in China’s Inner Mongolia region.

 

   

   

References:

 

China’s Longi to turn farm waste into 400,000 tons of green methanol a year. Kapil Kajal. Interesting Engineering. August 14, 2025. China’s Longi to turn farm waste into 400,000 tons of green methanol a year

WND facilitates Jiangsu's first green methanol project. China Services Info. February 25, 2025. WND facilitates Jiangsu's first green methanol project | govt.chinadaily.com.cn

Longi Starts $334M Green Methanol Project in China. Global Flo Control. August 15, 2025. Longi Starts $334M Green Methanol Project in China - Global Flow Control

Maersk Signs Long-Term Methanol Sourcing Deal. Maersk. October 30, 2024. Maersk Signs Long-Term Methanol Sourcing Deal | Maersk

LONGi Hydrogen Sichuan Yongxiang Project. Longi (website). LONGi Hydrogen Sichuan Yongxiang Project