On the morning of July 23, 5,000 tons of green methanol were successfully loaded onto a ship at the Vopak BOHai Terminal in Tianjin’s Dagukou Port Area, setting sail for Singapore. This batch of green energy cargo, jointly promoted by Hong Kong’s Towngas and the Dutch Vopak Group, not only marks the first major practice of the “production + logistics + port” full-chain industrial alliance built by the two companies but also signifies the increasing maturity of the complete industrial chain for green fuel in the Asia-Pacific region—from production, storage, and transportation to application. Tianjin Port has thereby become the northern distribution hub of the green methanol industrial alliance, highlighting its pivotal role in international green energy transportation.
The successful shipment of this green methanol stems from the strategic collaboration between Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited and Royal Vopak Group. Towngas possesses proprietary technology for converting waste tires and agricultural/forestry waste into green methanol and is the first domestic company to obtain ISCC EU and ISCC PLUS certifications. It operates a production facility in Inner Mongolia with a planned total capacity of 1 million tons. Vopak Group has built 300,000 cubic meters of storage facilities, specialized terminal infrastructure, and a global transportation network at Tianjin Port, aiming to establish a green methanol storage and transportation hub. Leveraging their respective strengths, the two companies have formed a full-chain green methanol industrial alliance model encompassing “production enterprises + logistics hubs + port operations.”
The shipment of 5,000 tons of green methanol from Tianjin Port to Singapore vividly demonstrates the alliance’s synergistic effects—seamlessly connecting production in Inner Mongolia, storage and loading at Tianjin Port, and bunkering in Singapore. This highlights the alliance’s central role in green energy circulation. A relevant official from Tianjin Lingang Vopak BOHai Terminal Co., Ltd. stated, “This successful shipment of 5,000 tons of domestically produced green methanol by Towngas from China to Singapore for bunkering, supported by our terminal, marks the gradual improvement of the Asia-Pacific region’s green fuel production-storage-transportation-application industrial chain.”
Dagukou Port Area boasts specialized liquid chemical terminals, dedicated railway lines, and outstanding methanol storage and transportation capabilities. This successful shipment solidifies Tianjin Port’s position as the northern distribution hub of the green methanol industrial alliance, fully showcasing its advantages in developing green energy transportation.
A relevant official from the Tianjin Port and Maritime Administration said, “We will continue to play the role of a ‘guardian.’ By approving hazardous cargo operation qualifications for enterprises, optimizing hazardous cargo declaration processes, and strengthening storage safety supervision, we provide comprehensive services and safeguards to support the thriving development of the green methanol industry and its upstream and downstream supply chains.”
Moving forward, Tianjin Port will leverage the expansion of green methanol storage, transportation, and bunkering operations to enhance its position in the international shipping green fuel supply chain. This will attract more new-energy vessels for cargo transshipment and fuel replenishment, further boosting the port’s competitiveness and driving new achievements in the integrated development of the port, industry, and city.
By Ma Rongwei, All-Media Reporter
