Based on an interview with Sorin Ivanovici, [Senior Advisor Synthetic Transformation], and Günther Wagner, [Advisor Business Portfolio Transformation]
Made from hydrogen and CO2 from biogenic sources as biogas production, eMethanol can replace fossil methanol in fuel production. Depending on the application and feedstock used, eMethanol changes the lifecycle greenhouse gas emission profile of the final fuel compared with fossil methanol. OMV experts explain how it works, how it is being used in Germany today, and why it matters for the development of synthetic fuels.
At a glance
- eMethanol is produced by combining hydrogen generated using electricity with CO2 from biogenic sources, such as biogas production.
- We source eMethanol from Solar Park Kassø ApS (SPK) in Denmark and integrate it into the production of Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME), a fuel component, for commercial road transport in Germany.
- This marks our first synthetic fuels application in Germany. It is helping connect production, certification, logistics, refining and customer demand as part of a growing synthetic fuels ecosystem.
For commercial road transport, the fuel in the tank may seem no different. But the way some of its ingredients are produced can make a difference. In the case of eMethanol hydrogen is produced using electricity from renewable sources and then combined with CO2 from biogenic sources, such as biogas production. When used in this application, it may contribute to lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared with the use of fossil methanol.
That is where eMethanol comes in.
On July 14, 2026, we received our first delivery of eMethanol from Solar Park Kassø ApS (SPK) in Denmark. It will be integrated into components for biodiesel production (Fatty Acid Methyl Ester, FAME) for commercial road transport in Germany. This marked our first synthetic fuels application in the country, just several weeks after Germany's transposition of the revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED III).
In this application, eMethanol replaces the fossil methanol normally used during biodiesel production. Rather than changing the final fuel itself, it is used as an alternative to fossil methanol in the production process.
For us, this first step is also about understanding what it takes to bring synthetic molecules into real-world use: connecting production with RFNBO certification, logistics, refining and ultimately customer demand.
To discuss this, we sat down with Sorin Ivanovici, Senior Advisor Synthetic Transformation, and Günther Wagner, Advisor Business Portfolio Transformation, about what eMethanol is, how it is produced, and why this relatively small part of the fuel value chain could play an important role in connecting different parts of the value chain.
What is eMethanol?
Ivanovici: The easiest way to understand eMethanol is to start with the synthetic pathway behind it: CO2 and hydrogen. The CO2 can come from the atmosphere or from a biogenic source like biogas, and the hydrogen is produced by water electrolysis using solely renewable energy. We combine these building blocks through chemical catalytic processes to create products such as eMethanol. In a way, we are trying to reproduce something nature already does, using chemistry and renewable energy to create another pathway. In our current application, eMethanol is used to produce a biodiesel component, where it replaces fossil methanol produced from natural gas.
Wagner: With biological feedstocks, you generally start with fossil feedstock that you process further into fuels. With the synthetic pathway, however, you start with hydrogen and biogenic CO2. If you are working with chemistry, you can build a wide range of products from those two building blocks. That is what makes it a synthetic pathway.
So, what does that look like in practice?
Ivanovici: In our current application, the key step is substituting a fossil component with a synthetic one. The biodiesel component we are working with is produced using a bio-based oil and methanol. Traditionally, that methanol can come from fossil sources, and we replace it with synthetic eMethanol.
Our main fuel component therefore remains bio-based. What changes is one part of its production process, where a fossil input is replaced with a synthetic one. Depending on the production pathway and application, this may contribute to lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared with the use of fossil methanol. So, we are not saying the final road fuel is fully synthetic. But replacing that fossil component can change the lifecycle greenhouse gas profile of the fuel.
In practical terms, the biodiesel component is Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME), a common form of biodiesel in Europe, produced from vegetable oils or waste fats with methanol.
Where does the eMethanol itself come from, and how is it produced?
Wagner: The process starts with biogenic CO2 and renewable electricity. The CO2 comes from a nearby biogas producer, generated as a by-product. At Kassø, renewable electricity is used to produce hydrogen, and the hydrogen and CO2 from biogenic sources are then brought together through a chemical conversion process to produce eMethanol.
Solar Park Kassø ApS (SPK) is a joint venture between European Energy and Mitsui. In this partnership, European Energy contributes renewable-energy expertise, while Mitsui brings experience in global trading, logistics, and methanol. We then source the eMethanol from there.
And once OMV sources that eMethanol, what happens next?
Ivanovici: We bring it into our fuel value chain. It goes to biodiesel producers, where it replaces fossil methanol in the production process. That biodiesel component is then blended into diesel and supplied to commercial road transport customers in Germany.
This is important: drivers will not fill up with eMethanol directly. Instead, it is used earlier in the fuel production process as an alternative to fossil methanol. It sits further back in the production chain, where it can contribute to the reduction of the lifecycle emissions of the biodiesel component.
Why Germany specifically, and what role does RED III play?
Ivanovici: Under RED III, fuel producers need to demonstrate that a required share of the fuels in their portfolio comes from qualifying renewable sources. This includes Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin, or RFNBOs. Germany introduced mandatory RFNBO volumes from 2026, providing a regulatory framework market opportunity for products such as eMethanol.
Germany has already implemented these requirements, and we are using eMethanol as one of the components that helps us meet that target.
RFNBO certificates are the proof behind that requirement. They track the qualifying renewable content and associated greenhouse gas savings through the production process. As the fuel producer, we retain those certificates and use them to show regulators how much RFNBO material has been incorporated into our fuel mix. The certificates remain linked to the physical product rather than acting as a separate claim.
What does this first application mean for OMV’s wider synthetic fuels strategy beyond Germany?
Wagner: What we are doing now is starting with an application that works today. But eMethanol can be used as a feedstock for synthetic aviation fuel, or eSAF – one synthetic molecule used as the starting point for another. The work we are doing today with eMethanol is part of preparing for that next step.
Ivanovici: I see this as one piece of a much bigger picture. We are building renewable hydrogen capacity, working with partners across the value chain, and looking at how these molecules can eventually be used in products such as aviation fuels and chemical feedstocks. We will not necessarily play the same role in every part of that value chain. In some cases, we may produce molecules ourselves, in others we will work with partners bringing complementary expertise.
Different sectors will follow different transition pathways. In harder-to-abate sectors, like aviation and chemicals, eMethanol can serve as an intermediate product in fuel and chemical value chains based on renewable electricity and captured CO2.
For OMV, the opportunity is also about expanding our role in synthetic fuels and helping build the wider ecosystem these molecules need in Europe. By bringing eMethanol into commercial use today, we are developing the sourcing, certification, logistics and customer relationships needed to scale synthetic fuels more widely. Partnerships such as Kassø also contribute to the development of the European renewable fuel value chain. and create a foundation for future applications, including eSAF.