Vast (Vast Renewables Limited) (NASDAQ:VSTE), a renewable energy company specialising in concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) energy systems that generate zero-carbon, utility-scale electricity and industrial process heat, has received planning consent for Solar Methanol 1 (SM 1), a CSP-powered reference plant that will produce green fuels.

SM1 will be located in Port Augusta, South Australia and will have the capacity to produce 7,500 tonnes per annum of green methanol, one of the most versatile hydrogen derivatives which, if produced using Vast's CSP technology, has the potential to decarbonise shipping and is already being used to power major container vessels.

Vast is co-developing SM1 with global energy company Mabanaft GmbH & Co. KG (Mabanaft). The project will combine proven technologies to produce green methanol: a Leilac calcination plant from fellow Australian technology company Calix to capture carbon dioxide unavoidably produced in the making of cement and lime; an electrolysis plant to produce hydrogen; and a methanol plant.

The project supports South Australia's push to develop a domestic hydrogen industry and, if successful, could create an important pathway for scalable green fuel production that is not dependent on limited biomass resources.

The project will be powered by VS1, a co-located 30 MW / 288 MWh CSP plant, which will utilise Vast's CSP v3.0 technology to provide renewable heat and renewable electricity to produce green fuels.

In February, Vast and its project partners announced the signing of funding agreements for SM1 for up to AUD $19.48 million from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Additional funding of up to EUR 12.4 million has been granted to project partner Mabanaft by Projektträger Jülich (PtJ). PtJ is a partner of the public sector in Germany in science, industry and politics. That funding is part of HyGATE, a collaboration between the Australian and German governments to support real-world pilot, trial and demonstration projects along the hydrogen supply chain.

The planning consent is an important step forward as the SM1 project moves towards final investment decision.

Craig Wood, CEO of Vast, said:

"Planning consent is an important milestone for this major project for Port Augusta and South Australia. SM1 will produce low-cost green fuels, which can play an important role in decarbonising the global maritime industry. The combination of technologies can be scaled rapidly, acting as a catalyst for a green fuels industry in Australia and around the world."

Calix CEO and Managing Director Phil Hodgson said:

"Capturing and using unavoidable emissions from cement and lime is an exciting option to help decarbonise multiple hard-to-abate industries. It is pleasing to see this innovative and collaborative project achieve another important milestone, bringing a world's first solar methanol plant one step closer to being realised."

Volker Ebeling, Senior Vice President New Energy, Supply & Infrastructure at Mabanaft, said:

"After evaluating the effectiveness, we expect larger scale projects to be developed that would serve other markets, including Europe."