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Join Andy Marsland in Exploring Clean Energy where we uncover the ideas, innovations, and projects powering our sustainable future.
You may know us as Exploring Hydrogen, where for 31 episodes we’ve shone a spotlight hydrogen. However, our global challenge of decarbonisation is much bigger than one energy vector.
Now, as we continue as The Exploring Clean Energy Podcast, this 2nd season we’re expanding the conversation to include the other stories that are shaping the energy transition of Australia and the world. We hope you enjoy the diversity of thought, and I welcome you so engage with me to help shape the episodes moving forward – so we can bring you the technical experts and projects that you want to hear about and to answer your important questions. Welcome to our energising journey.
You’re listening to Exploring Clean Energy, where we uncover the ideas, innovations, and projects powering our sustainable future. I’m Andy Marsland—welcome to the show.
I’m thrilled to welcome our guest today, Michael van Baarle, Executive Chairman & Co-founder of ABEL Energy. Michael, a very warm welcome.
Michael:
Thanks, Andy. Great to be here.
Andy:
Let’s dive straight in. Could you give listeners an overview of ABEL Energy?
Michael:
Sure. The concept for ABEL Energy started about ten years ago—though you could say the seeds were planted earlier when I worked in coal-to-liquids. One of the first products we looked at was methanol. Back then it wasn’t widely produced from coal, but since then China has become a major coal-to-methanol producer.
About a decade ago, after years working around fossil fuels in Queensland, I began asking: can we make methanol renewably? The more I read, the more convinced I became that a simple liquid alcohol like methanol could be a big part of our future—especially where we still need liquid fuels and carbon-based materials.
Andy:
For those less familiar: what is methanol—chemically and in terms of uses?
Michael:
Methanol (CH₃OH) is closely related to ethanol, but with one carbon atom instead of two. It’s one of the simplest liquid chemicals. Being a liquid matters: storage and transport are far easier than for gases.
It’s also a versatile building block used to make products like acetic acid and formaldehyde—ingredients that show up in sealants, plastics, paints, even pharmaceuticals. More broadly, like many petrochemical derivatives, methanol is embedded in everyday materials. The key challenge is greening these carbon-based building blocks.
Andy:
On heavy transport—particularly shipping—industry options often include LNG in the short term, and then methanol or ammonia. Why is methanol compelling?
Michael:
Versatility. Beyond being a chemical feedstock, methanol is a high-octane fuel—used in motorsport, for example. In shipping, methanol was first popularised not for decarbonisation, but because it burns much cleaner than heavy fuel oil. Ports like Barcelona, Rotterdam, or Sydney began restricting sulfur emissions; methanol offered a cleaner-burning liquid that didn’t require complex particulate filters.
As the industry progressed, the thinking became: if we can produce methanol renewably, we cut greenhouse gas intensity as well—so you get both cleaner local air quality and carbon benefits.
Andy:
We’ve discussed shipping’s emissions before—around 3% of global emissions. Comparing methanol (CH₃OH) and ammonia (NH₃), what happens with carbon in the methanol pathway?
Michael:
Carbon delivers energy density and liquid handling benefits that are hard to achieve without it; ammonia is a gas. But if you use carbon, you need sustainable, scalable carbon sources. On the earth’s surface, you really only have three: biomass, the atmosphere, and the ocean.
We avoid unsustainable sources—no native forestry, for instance. The near-term focus is sustainable biomass; longer term, atmospheric CO₂ will likely play a growing role.
Andy:
Let’s talk about your flagship project at Bell Bay in Tasmania. How did you choose the site, and how big is the project?
Michael:
I scouted the east coast from Cairns to Adelaide, looking for renewable electricity and sustainable carbon. Bell Bay stood out: Tasmania’s grid is largely renewable (hydro plus wind), and Bell Bay sits amid plantation forestry with waste residues—some of which were being burned.
There’s also an exceptional site: the former Bell Bay Power Station, with an existing grid connection and its own deep-water berth for export. Hydro Tasmania is completing demolition, and the region has an experienced industrial workforce and supportive community—about 72,000 people in the broader area. It’s a rare “Goldilocks” combination.
On scale, we’ve sized the plant to ~360,000 tonnes per annum. We began modelling at ~60–75 ktpa, but demand signals—particularly from methanol-capable shipping—pushed us bigger. As we scaled the model, unit costs dropped significantly. ~360 ktpa aligns with a standard gasification train; going beyond that would mean a second gasifier—think A$400–500m each.
Andy:
If many new methanol ships aren’t coming to Australia, what’s the export pathway?
Michael:
Singapore is the world’s largest bunkering hub—about 50 million tonnes of shipping fuel annually out of ~300 million globally. It’s on Australia’s doorstep, and ships refuelling there still need to comply with European rules when they call at EU ports—so fuels meeting EU standards will be sought in Singapore. That’s a major opportunity for Australian green methanol.
Andy:
You mentioned technology choices. What are you standardising on?
Michael:
We’re using proven, bankable building blocks wherever possible. For electrolysis, we favour well-established OEMs because first-of-a-kind projects are already seen as risky. Electrolysers for chlor-alkali have been built at large scale for decades, which helps on bankability.
Gasification is the step with the most bankability risk—not because it’s new (gasification is century-old), but because biomass at the large scale we’re targeting has fewer precedents. Still, the underlying tech is well understood.
Andy:
Utilities: how big is the water requirement, and for what?
Michael:
Counterintuitively, most water is for cooling, not hydrogen production. The former power station used brackish water from the Tamar estuary; we’re evaluating options. While our volumes aren’t large by agricultural standards, water supply must be locked in ahead of operations.
Andy:
You also have a project in Townsville?
Michael:
Yes. Townsville is interesting—Barrier Reef sensitivity, growing grid infrastructure (e.g., CopperString), and strong biomass growth in the tropics. We’ve shifted approach there: the priority is to partner with renewable power—ideally behind-the-meter—creating an integrated project from generation through to methanol.
A methanol plant can act like a “reverse battery”: it’s flexible. When power prices spike or the grid needs capacity, we can ramp down consumption—sometimes it’s more profitable to let power flow to the grid than to make methanol at that moment. That flexibility is increasingly valuable.
Andy:
On policy: timelines and incentives?
Michael:
A key driver is hydrogen production support. For projects that reach FID by June 2030, the economics materially improve. Operations after that date still benefit (though there’s a hard stop in June 2040), so timing matters. At our scale we could produce ≥40 million kg of hydrogen per year via electrolysis—so incentives per kilogram are consequential.
Andy:
And the Australian Net Zero package announced recently—how does that land for you?
Michael:
As project developers, you start years before policy is settled, trusting the general direction will be supportive—and at inflection points, it often is. Our task is to help decision-makers picture a new industry: methanol tanks, low-carbon fuels for mining and shipping, future SAF pathways—all of which don’t really exist domestically today.
We see relevance across multiple sector plans (transport, resources, electricity). We’ll work through which programs best fit, but directionally it’s positive.
Andy:
When could Bell Bay be operating?
Michael:
We’re targeting 2029–2030. We’ve completed feasibility and pre-FEED; we’re ready for FEED. The near-term challenge is capital—tens of millions for FEED—especially in a market not yet familiar with methanol. Government agencies are supportive, and we’re engaging potential partners and offtakers.
Andy:
Zooming out: why should Australia lean into green methanol?
Michael:
It plays to our strengths: abundant land, top-tier wind and solar, and significant biomass residues. Some alternatives—like used cooking oil—won’t scale here given our population size. Gasifying diverse residues gives us flexibility and scale, positioning us to export green fuels to hubs like Singapore while decarbonising domestic ports like Melbourne, Townsville, Fremantle, and Bunbury.
It’s also prudent economic policy: modelling suggests fossil-fuel export revenues could decline materially over the next decade as resources deplete and global competition intensifies. Building a new clean-fuels export industry helps future-proof Australia’s economy.
Andy:
How can listeners follow ABEL Energy?
Michael:
We’re active on LinkedIn and maintain websites for ABEL Energy and Bell Bay Power Fuels. LinkedIn is often the most up-to-date for project news.
Andy:
Any final asks of the audience?
Michael:
Awareness and advocacy. Methanol isn’t yet familiar in Australia, but it’s a practical, scalable path to lower-carbon fuels. With the right partners and policy settings, we can build a new export industry that benefits Australia and our region.
Andy:
A powerful note to end on—an emerging industry Australia needs, environmentally and economically. Michael, thanks so much for your time, and all the best with what’s ahead.
Michael:
Thanks, Andy.
Andy (closing):
Thanks for tuning in to Exploring Clean Energy. Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes. If you’ve got a great story to share, reach out on LinkedIn or email. I’m Andy Marsland—see you next time.
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