Green methanol production from biomass supporting China's carbon neutrality goals: Economic viability and regional deployment analysis

Marc Mate; Bingyan Sun; Bo Li; Xiang Gao; Kaige Wang

doi:10.59717/j.xinn-energy.2026.100171

The Innovation Energy > 2026 Vol. 3 > No. 3 > 100171

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Green methanol production from biomass supporting China's carbon neutrality goals: Economic viability and regional deployment analysis

1.
State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
2.
These authors contribute equally to this work

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Corresponding author: kaigewang@zju.edu.cn;
Received Date: March 23, 2026

Accepted Date: June 17, 2026

Published Online: July 18, 2026

The Innovation Energy 3(3), https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-energy.2026.100171 | Cite this article

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1. Green methanol serves as a key decarbonization route for China to balance energy security and 2060 carbon neutrality targets.
  
  Renewable hydrogen-gasification methanol costs 454–510 $/MT; gasification-CCS systems with grid power reach a lower 445–450 $/MT.
  
  Biomass methanol cuts GHG emissions by 98.2–124.7%, and carbon credits are vital to compete with fossil methanol economically.
  
  Strict decarbonization policies may slash production costs by 51–94% by 2060, and rational biomass supply can cover marine fuel needs with massive annual carbon mitigation.

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

To confront the dual challenges of energy security and ambitious carbon neutrality goals by 2060, green methanol projects are being prioritized as critical solutions for decarbonization in China. In this study, renewable hydrogen-integrated gasification systems were shown to achieve production costs in the range 454 – 510 ${\$}$/MT in the best-performing provinces in the northeastern regions. However, gasification-only systems coupled with carbon capture and storage under a grid power regime achieve even lower costs, 445-450 $ {\$}$/MT. Compared to fossil methanol, biomass-based methanol systems can achieve GHG emission reductions of 98.2-124.7%, avoiding 335-522 ktCO₂-eq/yr. Carbon credit incentives will be critical in achieving cost parity with conventional methanol, as lower carbon prices currently favor hydrogen-integrated systems using variable renewable energy. Under aggressive decarbonization policies, cost reductions of 51-94% by 2060 can be achieved. Strategic biomass allocation could satisfy China's marine fuel demand while preventing 37-44 million tons CO₂ emissions annually.
- Green methanol /
- Biomass gasification /
- Biofuel /
- Negative emissions /
- Techno-economic analysis.

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Mate M., Sun B., Li B., et al. (2026). Green methanol production from biomass supporting China's carbon neutrality goals: Economic viability and regional deployment analysis. The Innovation Energy 3:100171. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-energy.2026.100171

Mate M., Sun B., Li B., et al. (2026). Green methanol production from biomass supporting China's carbon neutrality goals: Economic viability and regional deployment analysis. The Innovation Energy 3:100171. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-energy.2026.100171

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Green methanol production from biomass supporting China's carbon neutrality goals: Economic viability and regional deployment analysis

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