Renewable methanol for the marine industry

Hot on the back of its announcement that it intends to spend €700 million on an e-methanol plant in the Spanish municipality of Monfarracinos, it’s released an update on the progress of its Villadangos Green project in León, its second plant in the province after La Robla Green.

“With Villadangos Green and thanks to La Robla Green, we will be able to generate 280kt/year of green e-methanol, an RFBNO that will be in high demand by industry,” said Yann Dumont, founding partner and CEO of Reolum.

“This project has an added bonus due to the innovation that characterises us, which is that, in addition to transporting CO2, we are connecting two industrial estates: El Crispín and Villadangos del Páramo, an unprecedented milestone that will result in one of the most cutting-edge technological facilities in Europe.”

Critical to decarbonisation

Reolum’s €500 million Villadangos Green project industrial complex will span 40 hectares and is designed to produce 140,000 tonnes per year of green methanol, critical to decarbonising maritime transport, aviation and the chemical sectors.

Construction is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2026, creating an average of 400 jobs and up to 800 during peak construction phases, with more than 60 permanent operational roles.

A core innovation is the integration of La Robla and Villadangos through two 37 km ducts transporting unused CO2 and enabling hydrogen storage, directly supporting scalable alternative fuels for shipping and marine construction.

Villadangos Green has secured €87 million from European Next Generation funds and recognition as a Project of Common Interest, reflecting its strategic importance.

Reolum said that the project reinforces the role of green methanol as a viable alternative fuel for heavy maritime applications while supporting industrial decarbonisation and long-term energy transition objectives across Europe.