Thermax and Ankur Scientific to Build India's First Green Methanol Plant at Deendayal Port in Kandla
Thermax and Ankur Scientific are moving to build India's first green methanol production plant at Deendayal Port in Kandla, on the country's western coast. The facility is designed to give India's shipping sector an early domestic source of cleaner marine fuel, and represents a significant step in linking Gujarat's port-side industrial ecosystem to a green-fuel value chain.
The plant is sized to produce up to 18,000 tonnes of green methanol per year — about five tonnes a day — combining Ankur Scientific's biomass-gasification technology with Thermax's fuel and chemical processing capabilities. Built on roughly one acre inside the port premises, the facility is expected to meet ASTM-grade standards, with methanol purity above 99.9%. Feedstock will be Prosopis juliflora, locally known as gando baval, an invasive species that has spread across the Banni grasslands in Kutch — turning an ecological pressure point into a local energy resource and a closed-loop biomass cycle.
The output is targeted at shipping as a lower-emission alternative to fossil-based marine fuels. India's shipping sector accounts for about 3% of national emissions and is expected to need 37,000 tonnes of methanol by 2030; at full capacity, the Kandla project could cover nearly half of that demand. Deendayal Port Authority chairperson Sushil Kumar Singh said the project is "a significant step towards enabling sustainable solutions in the maritime sector," reinforcing the port's commitment to environmentally responsible operations.
For supply chains the project carries three layers of importance. First, domestic production at Kandla reduces the bunker-supply risk for methanol-fueled vessels calling India, limiting exposure to import logistics and FX volatility for shipowners. Second, for global carriers ordering methanol dual-fuel newbuilds — including Maersk, CMA CGM and HMM — India becomes a new Asian green-methanol bunkering point, adding a strategic node to the global low-carbon shipping map. Third, the use of an invasive species as biomass feedstock turns a local-development and climate-policy lever into a single project — a model that combines Pune-headquartered Thermax with Vadodara-based Ankur Scientific (which says it has delivered more than 1,000 projects across more than 60 countries) and underlines that India's maritime decarbonization is being built on local industry.
Key Takeaways:
1. Thermax and Ankur Scientific are building India's first green methanol plant inside Deendayal Port at Kandla.
2. Capacity is up to 18,000 tonnes/year (~5 tonnes/day), meeting ASTM-grade standards with methanol purity above 99.9%.
3. Feedstock will be Prosopis juliflora (locally known as gando baval), an invasive species that has spread across the Banni grasslands in Kutch.
4. India's shipping sector is expected to need 37,000 tonnes of methanol by 2030; at full capacity Kandla could cover nearly half of that demand.
5. The plant positions India as a potential green-methanol bunkering point for methanol dual-fuel fleets ordered by carriers including Maersk, CMA CGM and HMM.
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