Asunción, Agencia IP.- A group of Austrian investors aim to invest USD 75 million in Paraguay, with a projection of USD 500 million, to install a green methanol plant for export to the European market.
During a meeting at the ministerial headquarters, representatives of Parafuel expressed interest to the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Javier Giménez, and the Vice Minister of Rediex, Rodrigo Maluff.
Regarding the topic, Rodrigo Maluff, the Head of Rediex, explained that it is a firm «with an established presence in Austria, which has been actively structuring a methanol production project in Paraguay for the past six months, based on green and renewable energies.»
Methanol production
He emphasized that the goal is to produce 1,500,000 liters of methanol, an alternative fuel to fossil fuels.
«Methanol is a synthetic product combining a currently popular product, hydrogen, as a tool for generating alternative fuels to fossil fuels. Thus, hydrogen is mixed with a CO2 molecule captured from the environment. It is a fuel used today by airlines, albeit in a tiny percentage, tending to grow yearly,» he added.
Model plant to be installed in less than a year
Maluff highlighted that «the idea is to install a model plant in less than 12 months and that they intend to be located in the department of Concepción, but discussions are ongoing regarding the area with the best prospects.»
According to the planning, the investment is planned «in 3 phases, the first in a pilot plant with a USD 75 million investment; the second with consumption increasing from 3 megawatts to 40 megawatts and an investment of USD 250 million, ready by 2029, and the third, from 2029 onwards, with consumption increasing to 90 megawatts and a capital of USD 500 million,» reported the head of Rediex.
Targeting the regional and European markets
Another member of the delegation, Michel Galeano, a researcher at the Faculty of Chemical Sciences of the National University of Asunción (UNA), said that «the aim is the regional market, but mainly the European one, where the need for synthetic fuel of green origin is already a growing obligation, mainly for the aviation sector.»