October 22, 2025 [Renewables Now]- A unit of industrial group Maire SpA (BIT:MAIRE) has been picked to conduct a feasibility study for a waste-to-methanol plant in Norway, a project led by local companies Mana Group and Equinor (OSE:EQNR).

The agreement was signed with MyRechemical — a waste-to-chemical subsidiary of NextChem, Maire’s company for green chemistry and energy transition technologies. It envisages the technical and economic evaluation of waste gasification and the subsequent purification of syngas for methanol production.

The contemplated facility will be located at Norway’s Mongstad refinery. It is planned to use NX Circular technology to convert urban and industrial waste into chemical-grade syngas that will be further processed to produce low-carbon methanol, meeting the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive criteria.

The output of the plant could initially replace marine bunker fuel to meet the targets of the FuelEU Maritime regulation, and potentially later be used as feedstock for methanol-to-jet facilities to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) compliant with FuelEU Aviation regulation.

“We are proud to support this early-stage strategic partnership to explore the potential to develop the Nordics’ first large-scale waste-to-methanol project at Mongstad, Norway. Northern Europe represents an ideal context for replicable and scalable industrial projects, with tangible environmental and industrial benefits,” said Fritelli, Managing Director of NextChem.

NG Nordic-owned Mana and Equinor, along with research institution NORCE, entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore the potential to develop the site in August 2024. The initial plan envisages that around 550,000 tonnes of residual waste annually to be converted into 270,000 tonnes of methanol.