Slow progress of methanol-fueled vehicles in China

According to public data, by the end of September 2022, the number of new energy vehicles in China has reached 11.49 million, of which the methanol-fueled vehicles took up only 30,000 (27,000 were put on the market by Geely). The proportion of methanol-fueled vehicles was almost negligible. Since 2012, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China has been organizing pilot project for methanol-fueled vehicles, but why does the quantity remain small in the past decade?

Firstly, the number of methanol fuel filling stations for methanol-fueled vehicles is small. The cost to construct a new methanol filling station is about 1 to 3 million yuan, and most methanol filling stations rely on state subsidies to maintain operation and face with challenge of losses. In addition, due to the particularity, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology maintains promoting methanol vehicles according to local conditions, mainly in Shanxi, Guizhou, Gansu, etc. where there’s abundant coal resources. However, as the pilot project is confined to those regions, there would be restrictions and it would be impossible to popularize in other provinces and cities.

In addition, methanol is a kind of hazardous chemical. Due to its corrosiveness, there would be higher anti-corrosion requirements for automobile engine parts. It brings a lot of technical barriers and cost challenge to automobile companies. Moreover, methanol has a certain degree of toxicity, and the acceptance by the market is another concern.

Then, is there still room for the development of methanol vehicles in China in the future?

In terms of policy, the promotion and application of methanol-fueled vehicles is underway.

In March 2022, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that the next step will focus on promoting methanol vehicles, supporting the development of methanol automobile industry, exploring new models of green methanol vehicles, stepping up efforts to promote methanol economy, speeding up the promotion of methanol vehicles, and supporting Jinzhong City and other pilot areas to take the advantages in local conditions.

On June 30, Geely's fourth generation methanol-electric hybrid car was put on the market, and the methanol-fueled heavy truck developed by Geely was delivered at the same time in Guiyang.

On September 2, 150 Geely fourth-generation methanol-electric hybrid taxis were put into operation for the first time in Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province.

On November 15, mayor and deputy secretary of the CPC Committee of Jinzhong City presided over a special meeting to make further arrangements for promoting the application of methanol vehicles and accelerating the development of methanol automobile industry.

Compared with other vehicles, methanol-fueled vehicles also have their significant advantages. For example, the cost of using methanol-fueled vehicles is lower than that of gasoline vehicles, the fuel filling is faster than the charging of electric vehicles, and the coal chemical industry is in line with China's energy strategy.

What is the methanol consumption from existing methanol-fueled vehicles?

China’s methanol output exceeded 70 million tons in 2021, while methanol consumption from those vehicles is negligible. Methanol consumption is estimated at 9.2L per 100 km (1266 liters per ton of methanol). If the annual mileage of a methanol vehicle is 50,000 km, the annual methanol consumption from 30,000 methanol vehicles is only 110,000 tons.