The Obrist Group reported Dec. 18 that it recommends storing solar energy as methanol because it can be easily stored and transported—and because Obrist’s patented Direct Air Capture (DAC) method is reported to collect more CO2 from the atmosphere during methanol production than is released during combustion.
“Renewable energy derived from air and sunlight, transportable and storable with the same ease as fossil fuels, is no longer a utopian vision but a fully developed, technical concept ready for large-scale industrial implementation,” says Frank Obrist, founder and CEO of Obrist. “Green methanol is a renewable energy source that can replace all fossil fuels worldwide. As hard to imagine today as the iPhone was before its launch in 2007, green methanol will be as commonplace in 15 years as smartphones are today.”
In general, this process consists of extracting water from the air, using solar power to convert it into hydrogen, which is then transformed into methanol. As a liquid at room temperature, methanol can be stored for lengthy periods in standard containers, and easily transported via conventional methods, such as pipelines, tankers, trains or trucks. The key innovation is that more CO2 is captured from the atmosphere during methanol production than is released during its combustion.
Developed and patented by Obrist, DAC functions like a vacuum, removing accumulated CO2 from the atmosphere. Obrist describes its process as “sub-zero” because, unlike achieving net-zero emissions, its method goes further by actively reducing atmospheric CO2 levels. This makes DAC CO2-negative and therefore climate-positive. Obrist adds that it holds more than 252 registered and 128 granted patents worldwide to do it.
“To leave an intact climate for future generations, we need to capture the CO2 emitted by the extensive use of fossil fuels,” explains Obrist. “Solar energy is almost free in the Earth's sun belt. If we set up methanol factories there, the cost of this renewable energy source, at just under 6 cents per kilowatt hour, will be significantly lower than all fossil fuels, even when transport costs are included.”
To directly produce green methanol, Obrist reports that it’s planning to build so-called gigaplants. This type of giant solar park is expected to manufacture almost 4 million tons of methanol per year on about 280 square kilometers. At present energy prices, this corresponds to annual sales of about $4.3 billion USD. This gigaplant design’s annual operating costs are estimated at about $340 million dollars, leaving a gross profit of almost $4 billion dollars per year. Construction costs for a gigaplant, estimated at $18.6 billion dollars, would be recouped in less than five years, which corresponds to a more than 21% annual return on its capital costs.
“High profitability is key to attracting investors,” adds Obrist. “Every investor should recognize that entering the gigaplant business today is comparable to investing in Apple 20 years ago or Tesla 15 years ago in terms of financial potential.”
Beyond its return on investment (ROI), Obrist claims its gigaplant’s climate impact is even more significant. One facility is projected to remove more than 6.2 million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere annually. According to Obrist’s estimates, 2,700 gigaplants could entirely replace the world’s reliance on fossil fuels.
