The Obrist Group Proposes a Baseload-capable and Sustainable Energy Concept for Europe
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The Obrist Group Proposes a Baseload-capable and Sustainable Energy Concept for Europe
Thorsten Rixmann: "Europe should take the lead in building a global methanol economy to strengthen its own resilience and authority."
Lindau/Germany, Lustenau/Austria – March 18, 2025 – "Europe has awakened in response to geopolitical upheavals," said Thorsten Rixmann, Chief Marketing Officer of the Obrist Group. In light of the reorientation towards greater European autonomy, competitiveness, and sovereignty on a global scale, he believes it is high time to establish an independent global foundation for energy supply. The marketing chief of the German-Austrian industrial group sees the shift of Europe's energy supply to a globally organized methanol economy as a "huge opportunity" for Europe.
Thorsten Rixmann analyzed: "Sun and wind alone do not provide baseload-capable energy supply. Nuclear power is controversial and expensive. For oil, coal, and gas, Europe is dependent on imports, not to mention that moving away from fossil fuels is essential for climate protection. A global methanol economy, built and operated by Europe, is therefore the best way to supply Europe with baseload-capable, competitive, and sustainable energy." He described it as a "combination of the best from all worlds": Methanol can be produced from solar energy, but unlike hydrogen, it is liquid at normal conditions, like oil, and can therefore be transported via existing global infrastructure such as pipelines, tankers, and trucks. The downside: The solar radiation intensity within Europe is not sufficient to economically produce methanol; this production must take place in the sunbelt of the Earth, closer to the equator.
Global Gigaplants Under European Leadership
To address this "dilemma," Thorsten Rixmann draws on the Obrist Group's Gigaplant concept, which has been developed to industrial serial production and is ready for deployment. The proposal: Under EU leadership, large-scale methanol production facilities will be cooperatively built and operated in African and Middle Eastern countries, where solar intensity is sufficiently high. The methanol produced there will not only serve Europe's reliable energy supply but can also be made available to other countries.
Such an initiative, the Obrist manager emphasizes, would also benefit the cooperating countries beyond Europe. He envisions a thriving economy in African countries, which, thanks to Gigaplants, could develop into a hub for global energy supply. For the countries in the Middle East, methanol production would enable a gradual transition away from oil extraction. "Oil will eventually run out, but the sun will shine forever," Rixmann outlined the long-term perspective for the Middle Eastern states.
The Chief Marketing Officer of the Obrist Group emphasized: "Europe has the historic opportunity to play a key role in global energy supply. To achieve this, it is necessary to quickly establish corresponding agreements with partner countries and invest in a global methanol production infrastructure. This would be an important step toward greater autonomy, competitiveness, and sovereignty for Europe."
The Gigaplant Concept at a Glance
Gigaplants are a type of massive solar park that, however, do not generate electricity, but instead produce sustainably manufactured methanol. During production, more climate-damaging carbon dioxide (CO2) is removed from the atmosphere than is released during its later use. According to the Obrist proposal, a Gigaplant should produce nearly four million tons of methanol per year.
Due to the high solar intensity, solar power is available in the targeted regions for just 0.88 cents per kilowatt-hour. These so-called levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for converting another energy form into electrical power range from three to over five cents for conventional solar parks, from nearly four cents (onshore) to about twelve cents (offshore) for wind power, from seven to seventeen cents for biomass, from nearly eight to thirteen cents for natural gas, from ten to twenty cents for coal, and from 3.5 to eight cents for nuclear power per kilowatt-hour. "The Obrist concept therefore generates electricity at less than one-third of the cost of the cheapest alternative method," summarized Rixmann.
However, since electricity is difficult to store on a large scale and even harder to transport, it is "only" used in the Gigaplant for electrolysis, to first produce hydrogen from water and then convert this hydrogen into methanol. The water required for methanol production is extracted from the surrounding air; only a humidity level of ten percent is needed, which is present even in the desert. Therefore, Gigaplants can be built in deserts or other barren lands that could not otherwise be used. This keeps costs low and eliminates conflicts with settlement projects or agriculture. The Obrist Group estimates the cost of the liquid methanol produced from solar energy and "desert water" to be under six cents per kilowatt-hour, far less than any other known energy source.
Security and Returns for Europe
"Building such an energy infrastructure would indeed require the EU to employ delicate diplomacy to reach agreements with countries near the equator," Rixmann admitted, "but ultimately, this is primarily an economic policy measure that benefits both these countries and the European Union." The initial funding for a global methanol economy would need to be provided by the EU, says the Obrist manager, adding: "The investment would pay off within just a few years." He elaborates: The construction costs for a Gigaplant are estimated at 18.6 billion euros. It produces nearly four million tons of methanol per year, which, at today's energy prices, equates to revenue of around 4.3 billion US dollars. With annual operating costs of approximately 340 million dollars, this leaves a gross profit of almost four billion dollars.
"In less than five years, the construction costs would be recouped, which translates to an annual return of over 21 percent," explained Rixmann. He added: "This would make the establishment of a Gigaplant infrastructure not only a tremendous strategic step for Europe but also one of the best returns on investment for European taxpayers' money." At the same time, Europe would truly lead the way in climate protection with this approach: Each Gigaplant removes more than 6.2 million tons of net carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere every year. The climate also benefits from the more than 6.5 million tons of oxygen released into the atmosphere each year as part of the methanol production process.
According to calculations by the Obrist Group, around 3,000 Gigaplants would be needed to fully replace the use of fossil fuels with methanol. The total cost for building these clean energy factories would amount to nearly 50 trillion dollars. "This is a big goal, but it is achievable step by step," said Rixmann. "The current global situation would be a good reason for the European Union to quickly take the first step and launch two or three Gigaplants in different countries. A secure and economic energy supply would significantly enhance Europe's resilience and competitiveness, while contributing to the sustainable well-being of the European population."
Obrist Group: The Obrist Group, founded by inventor and entrepreneur Frank Obrist, focuses on innovations for global, sustainable and CO2-reducing energy concepts. The spectrum ranges from the global supply of renewable energies to atmospheric fuels (aFuels) and innovative CO2-negative (i.e. climate-positive!) drive concepts for the automotive industry. With around 380 key patents, the Obrist Group is one of the world's most important innovators in the field of sustainable energy concepts.
Further information: www.obrist.at
Press Contact: Thorsten Rixmann, Chief Marketing Officer, phone +43 660 5642275, email: t.rixmann@obrist.at
Press Agency: euromarcom public relations, email: team@euromarcom.de
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