The Transport and Logistics Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government led a delegation of industry representatives to Inner Mongolia earlier this month to tour a green methanol production facility and examine the ecological project that supplies part of its feedstock.

The visit, arranged by The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas), centred on the VENEX green methanol plant in Ordos, Inner Mongolia. VENEX is a joint venture of Towngas, which says it is scaling up the facility’s annual green methanol production capacity to 300,000 tonnes.

The delegation comprised representatives from 14 companies, organisations and universities, spanning sectors including fuel production, trading, bunkering, international shipping, finance, testing and certification, port operations and scientific research. Under Secretary for Transport and Logistics Liu Chun-san said he hoped the visit would help the delegation understand the latest developments in green marine fuels and explore collaborative opportunities across government, business, community and academic sectors.

Closed-loop cycle

Towngas Chief Operating Officer (Green Fuels and Chemicals) and Group Chief Technology Officer Sham Man-fai briefed delegates on VENEX’s green methanol production technologies, environmental operating standards, production scale and industrial footprint. He also arranged a tour of the local Ant Forest ecological project, which cultivates sand willow and other shrubs in the desert to prevent desertification.

According to Towngas, waste branches generated through periodic pruning of these plants can be converted into a natural, sustainable ecological feedstock for green methanol production. The company describes this as a closed-loop industrial cycle — from ecological restoration and feedstock supply through to green energy production — carried out in collaboration with local communities to collect the waste branches.

Sham said: “VENEX’s innovative approach to sustainability has earned both domestic and international recognition. Following the acquisition of two major international certifications — ISCC EU and ISCC PLUS — the project was recently awarded certification under China’s Global Sustainable Transport Certification (GSTC) scheme.”

Memorandum signed in Beijing

During the trip, the delegation also attended a symposium on green marine fuel industry cooperation in Beijing, hosted by the Global Sustainable Transport Innovation and Knowledge Center (GSTIKC), and participated in an exchange session with the Hydrogen Energy Industry Branch of the China Association for the Promotion of Industrial Development.

Towngas signed a strategic memorandum of understanding with the GSTIKC to deepen cooperation in the production, storage, transport and utilisation of green fuels, and to strengthen research on the international standard system for green marine fuels.

Towngas said it aims to enhance its green methanol production capacity, supply network and bunkering infrastructure, with the goal of supporting Hong Kong in building a hub for green marine fuel trading and bunkering, aligned with international standards.