Project Air – From idea to reality

Project Air is a groundbreaking industrial initiative to break the fossil dependence of the chemical industry, with far-reaching effects throughout industrial value chains. The process of Project Air moving from idea to reality is here explored.   

Since Project Air was initiated by Perstorp in 2019, the project has achieved several key milestones. It has for example seen tremendous success as it has secured funding both locally and globally, as well as obtained relevant permits and collaboration partners.  

 

History of Project Air 

2019: 

The plan to build a first-of-a-kind, large scale, commercial Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) unit to produce sustainable methanol was officially launched by Perstorp in January 2019. This was done as a part of the company’s long-term ambition and guiding star to become Finite Material Neutral.  

2020: 

In 2020, Uniper, a leading international energy company, joined the project as a hydrogen partner. As part of their aim to become carbon neutral in Europe by 2035, Uniper will develop, own, and operate the hydrogen electrolysis plant supplying renewable hydrogen for Project Air. 

2021:  

During 2021, Project Air managed to secure funding from the Swedish Energy Agency (EUR 30M) as part of their initiative the Industrial Leap (Industriklivet in Swedish) which aims to support the industry’s journey towards net zero carbon emissions.   

2022: 

Project Air achieved an important milestone in 2022 as the European Union’s Innovation Fund decided to provide the project with EUR 97 million in funding, acknowledging Project Air’s importance as an industrial transition project within the EU.  

2023: 

Having secured funding, Perstorp, together with Uniper, now started working on creating the operational prerequisites to realizing Project Air.  

Three crucial milestones were reached in the project during 2023:  

  • Perstorp selected Johnson Matthey to provide the methanol license and engineering services for Project Air.  
  • Uniper commissioned the company Sunfire to build a pressurized alkaline electrolysis plant that will supply renewable hydrogen by using renewable electricity and purified wastewater.  
  • Project Air was granted a changed environmental permit by the local district court in Vänersborg, Sweden, that allows Perstorp to construct and operate a new electrolysis plant, which is needed to produce renewable hydrogen.  

2024: 

Currently, we are working on basic engineering and securing a stable supply of biogas for the industry in Sweden. Construction will start in 2025 and the plant is scheduled to be up and running in 2026.  

Who initiated Project Air? 

Project Air was initially launched by the Swedish company Perstorp AB in collaboration with Uniper and Fortum. However, after some ownership changes in the two companies, Uniper decided to take over Fortum’s part in Project Air in 2020.  

Find out more about the founding partners here >>