AFRY has been appointed by Uniper to carry out the front-end engineering design (FEED) for the planned NorthStarH2 e-methanol plant in Östersund, Sweden, moving the project into a phase aimed at preparing it for a final investment decision.
The facility is designed to produce around 115,000 tonnes of e-methanol a year. Uniper plans to make an investment decision in 2028, with commissioning currently targeted for 2031.
NorthStarH2 will combine renewable electricity, green hydrogen and biogenic carbon dioxide. A 175 MW electrolyser system will use renewable power to produce hydrogen, which will then be combined with biogenic CO2 captured from Jämtkraft’s biomass-fired combined heat and power plant at Lugnvik.
The resulting e-methanol is intended for applications where reducing fossil fuel use remains difficult, including transport and the chemical industry, where methanol is also used as an industrial feedstock.
AFRY’s FEED scope covers process design and plant engineering, as well as the operating philosophy, technical specifications and health, safety and environmental requirements. The engineering company will also coordinate with equipment suppliers involved in electrolysis, carbon capture and methanol synthesis.
The FEED phase began in late August and is expected to continue until summer 2027. Its purpose is to establish the technical definition and cost basis needed for the subsequent investment and execution phases.
“E-methanol will play an increasingly important role in decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors such as transport and chemicals,” said Guy Skantze of AFRY. “AFRY is honoured to support Uniper in transforming this vision into a technically robust and investment-ready project.”
Broghan Helgeson, NorthStarH2 project manager at Uniper, said the FEED contract marked an important step for the project.
“NorthStarH2 is an important project in Uniper’s energy transition portfolio,” she said. “We look forward to continuing our successful collaboration and completing the FEED phase together.”
The project is being developed by Uniper through Sydkraft Hydrogen AB in cooperation with Jämtkraft. If completed, NorthStarH2 would add another large-scale Power-to-X project to Sweden’s emerging e-fuels sector.
Read more: World first power-to-X at Kassø, Denmark
