Towngas and Royal Vopak collaborate to expand green methanol supply chain network

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-- In alignment with the global trend of accelerating green energy transformation, The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas) and Vopak China Management Co., Ltd. (Royal Vopak) have recently signed a strategic framework cooperation agreement to collaborate in areas such as green methanol production, storage, bunkering, and trading etc. Focusing on the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and Asia-Pacific markets, both parties are joining forces to expand an efficient green methanol supply chain network and support the shipping industry’s low-carbon transition. 

The two parties will capitalise on their respective strengths to expand the supply network of green methanol. Towngas employs proprietary technology to convert agricultural and forestry waste as well as scrap tyres into green methanol, and has obtained multiple international certifications and provides a sufficient supply of green methanol for maritime fuel bunkering. Royal Vopak provides green methanol storage and terminal services with its comprehensive storage and terminal infrastructure and coastal port network advantages. Together, the two parties will achieve efficient resource allocation and ship green methanol to the Greater Bay Area, East China, South China, and the broader Asia-Pacific markets, further expanding the green methanol supply chain network. 

Towngas and Royal Vopak will further develop multiple areas of regional cooperation, including in the Greater Bay Area. By leveraging the strengths of the ports in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, the partnership will focus on “production and storage synergy” as its core to strengthen cooperation around logistics and terminal facility construction, and to build an integrated green methanol storage and transportation network. In East China, the two parties will centre their collaboration in Shanghai and Ningbo, two major international ports, to further strengthen cooperation in logistics storage and bunkering facility construction to meet the growing demand for green fuels at both ports. In the Bohai Bay region, with Tianjin as the strategic hub, Towngas will transport green methanol produced at its northern China production base to Royal Vopak’s local storage tank farm, then achieve resource allocation through the Royal Vopak’s distribution network, supporting the supply of green methanol from northern China to the national and Asia-Pacific markets. The two parties will also target key export markets, such as Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, and South Korea, to accelerate overseas expansion and boost the market competitiveness of clean energy in the Asia-Pacific region. 

Mr Sham Man-fai, Towngas Chief Operating Officer – Green Fuel and Chemicals, stated that this collaboration is expected to harness resource integration and complementary strengths to grasp the opportunities presented by green energy. “Towngas has recently completed a 6,000-tonne green methanol bunkering project, the largest in Asia. It was completed with the support of Royal Vopak’s Tianjin storage tank farm facilities, laying a solid foundation for this partnership. Towngas’s Inner Mongolia green methanol plant is set to increase its annual capacity from 100,000 tonnes to 150,000 tonnes by the end of this year, with plans to further expand to 300,000 tonnes by 2028. Together with Royal Vopak’s storage and terminal services infrastructure and coastal port network, the two parties will build a comprehensive green methanol supply chain network.”

Looking ahead, Towngas will further enhance production capacity through its green methanol platform, planning to further establish multiple green methanol production plants across the Chinese mainland, targeting an annual capacity of one million tonnes to prepare for large-scale green methanol applications. 

About The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited
Founded in 1862, Towngas is the public utility with the longest history in Hong Kong and one of the city’s largest energy suppliers, with world-class corporate governance and operations. In recent years, Towngas has been actively developing clean energy solutions, including hydrogen energy, marine green methanol, and sustainable aviation fuel, striving to achieve the vision of carbon neutrality. Towngas possesses extensive experience in green methanol production, and has obtained ISCC EU, ISCC PLUS, ISO 14067 and other international certifications. Additionally, Towngas was the first enterprise on the Chinese mainland to produce ISCC EU and ISCC PLUS-certified green methanol whilst maintaining a large-scale green methanol production capacity. Currently, Towngas has developed more than 1,000 projects across 29 provincial regions in China, encompassing renewable energy solutions, piped city gas, gas resources, water supply, municipal waste utilisation projects, and emerging green energy.

About Royal Vopak 
Royal Vopak is the world’s leading independent infrastructure provider with a global network of LNG, LPG and industrial terminals. Vopak contributes to energy transition, with a focus on infrastructure solutions for ammonia, CO2, battery energy storage, and sustainable fuels and feedstocks. For more than 400 years, Vopak has been focusing on safety and sustainable development and providing efficient, safe, clean and storage services, backed by advanced storage and terminal management and operational expertise. Royal Vopak has established terminals and storage tank farms in 9 China’s major coastal provinces, with storage tank capacity exceeding 3.5 million cubic metres.

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Press photo:


Photo 1:


Mr Sham Man-fai (left), Towngas Chief Operating Officer – Green Fuel and Chemicals and Mr Chen Yan (right), President of Vopak China and North Asia, sign the strategic framework cooperation agreement on behalf of their companies to jointly expand the green methanol supply chain network.


Photo 2:


Towngas’s green methanol production plant in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, employs proprietary technology to convert agricultural and forestry waste, as well as scrap tyres, into green methanol. The Company has obtained ISCC EU, ISCC PLUS, ISO 14067, and other international certifications to supply high-quality green methanol.

For media enquiries, please contact:
The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited

Ms Kara Kwong
Assistant Corporate Affairs Manager
Tel: 2963 3497 / 6698 3357
Email: [email protected]

Mr Julius Chow
Senior Corporate Affairs Officer
Tel: 2963 3471 / 6969 1360
Email: [email protected]

Media Enquiries

For media enquiries, please contact our Corporate Affairs Department.

Corporate Affairs Department

The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited
21/F, 363 Java Road North Point, Hong Kong

WhatsApp: (852) 6702 6449
Email: [email protected]

Release ID: 89164088

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