NW Innovation Works (Northwest Innovation Works or NWIW) is an American company proposing
methanol
Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the formula C H3 O H (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated as MeOH). It is a ...
refineries in the
Pacific Northwest region. The company refers to itself as a
clean tech
Clean technology, in short cleantech, is any process, product, or service that reduces negative environmental impacts through significant energy efficiency improvements, the sustainable use of resources, or environmental protection activities. Cle ...
company.
Company history
The company was founded in 2011 by the Pan-Pacific Energy Corp, owned by Shanghai Bi Ke Clean Energy Technology Co., Ltd, the private equity arm of the government-owned
Chinese Academy of Sciences, and
BP, who later sold their share of the company.
joined in 2015, and by 2016, a shareholder was
Stonepeak Partners
Stonepeak (also known as Stonepeak Partners and Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners) is an American investment firm headquartered in New York City. The firm focuses on investments in infrastructure and more recently real estate. The firm has addit ...
, a private equity firm managing over $5 billion in equity in 2016.
The
natural gas feedstock, typically produced by
fracking and supplied through the
Northwest Pipeline
Northwest Pipeline is a natural gas pipeline network which takes gas from western Canada and the Rocky Mountains via the Westcoast Pipeline and brings it into California, either through Gas Transmission Northwest or Kern River. A small amount of ga ...
, would go through a
methane reforming A methane reformer is a device based on steam reforming, autothermal reforming or partial oxidation and is a type of chemical synthesis which can produce pure hydrogen gas from methane using a catalyst. There are multiple types of reformers in devel ...
process to produce
liquid methane, which would be shipped to
Dalian, China for plastics production.
Proposed facilities
Tacoma, Washington
After lobbying on a 2013 Chinese trade mission by Washington State's governor
Jay Inslee,
NWIW announced plans to build "the world's largest methanol plant" in
Tacoma, Washington, at the site of a former
Kaiser Aluminum smelter. The plant was announced in 2014 and canceled in 2016 after protests and lawsuits.
Kalama, Washington
NWIW announced their planned
liquid methanol
A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, ...
plant at the
Port of Kalama in
Kalama, Washington. The company touts this refinery as reducing
greenhouse gas emissions by displacing coal plants in China, though the
Stockholm Environment Institute and others dispute this, stating greenhouse gas emissions would increase, displacing sources other than coal plants.
The Kalama plant would also use a
Zero Liquid Discharge system to prevent waste products from flowing into the
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
.
While the plant has been touted as displacing coal-to-plastics processes,
OPB obtained documents showing that in 2019 the company said the methanol would be used as fuel in China.
Financing for the plant may be backed with a $2 billion
federal loan guarantee, as well as federal and state grants, loans, and tax breaks.
Clatskanie, Oregon
NWIW also has plans to build a methane reforming facility on the Columbia River at
Port Westward industrial park near
Clatskanie, Oregon
Clatskanie is a city in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. It was named for the Tlatskanai Native American tribe, and the Clatskanie River which flows through the town and empties into the Columbia River about four miles to the north. The p ...
.
References
External links
* {{official, https://nwinnovationworks.com/
Energy in Washington (state)
Energy in Oregon