Greenlyte Carbon Technologies Launches eMethanol Production with Green Hydrogen at Marl Chemical Park

The Essen-based start-up Greenlyte Carbon Technologies is planning to build an innovative plant for the CO₂-neutral production of eMethanol at the Marl Chemical Park. The company is receiving multi-million euro funding from the “Produktives.NRW” program, which is co-financed by North Rhine-Westphalia and the EU. The total investment amounts to around 25 million euros and commissioning is planned for the end of 2026. The Marl Chemical Park is providing a 3,000 m² area and the necessary infrastructure.

“Greenlyte's production facility is a welcome further step for the Marl Chemical Park in expanding our hydrogen hub,” says Thomas Basten, head of the Evonik site. Florian Hildebrand, CEO of Greenlyte, adds: “The Chemical Park not only offers us a location, but also an innovative and inspiring environment in which the transformation of the chemical industry becomes a reality.” The cooperation is to be further expanded in the future.

Greenlyte relies on its own direct air capture technology for production. This captures up to 1,400 tons of CO₂ from the air every year. At the same time, around 200 tons of green hydrogen are produced in an integrated process. In a further step, these molecules - green hydrogen and green CO₂ - are synthesized into up to 1,000 tons of eMethanol per year. This raw material is essential for many chemical companies at the site.

The establishment of Greenlyte fits in with the sustainable hydrogen strategy of the Marl Chemical Park. Evonik and other companies in the GET H2 initiative are working on building a public hydrogen infrastructure in Germany. This includes the conversion of a natural gas pipeline from Marl to Legden and a new section to Scholven.

The site is also focusing on innovative technologies: Evonik's Rheticus research project uses artificial photosynthesis to produce specialty chemicals from CO₂ with the help of bacteria. Evonik is also investing a low double-digit million euro amount in the construction of a pilot plant for the production of the DURAION® anion exchange membrane, which is intended to enable the cost-effective production of green hydrogen.

Hydrogen has a long tradition at the Marl Chemical Park. It has played a central role in production for 85 years, with a processing volume of around 25,000 cubic meters per hour. This expertise is now being used to lead the site into a lower-CO₂ future.