At the 2026 Sustainable Global Leaders Conference held in Shanghai from October 20 to 22, Alexander Döll, Chief Executive Officer of the Methanol Institute, sat down for a conversation with Sina Finance.
Döll said methanol has long been part of everyday life, as it is essential to cosmetics, electronics and many other products. Methanol is also now expanding from a basic chemical feedstock into applications in shipping, aviation and automobiles.
China is the world's largest producer and consumer of methanol. In Döll's view, China is a crucial force in the energy transition. "Many ideas and technologies for green methanol production originate in China. At the same time, China needs to open its door to the world, share the experience it has accumulated and help other participants advance together," he said.
Green methanol investment is waiting for certainty
The methanol molecule is simple in structure and easy to produce, store and transport, giving methanol a unique and differentiated advantage in the energy transition. In ordinary daily life, cosmetics, electronics and other goods also use methanol as a raw material.
"Methanol used to be mainly a basic feedstock for the chemical industry, but today it has become a fuel for shipping and aviation and is also used in automobiles. For example, in low-temperature environments, pure electric vehicles face battery performance degradation, while methanol hybrid models can maintain stable range thanks to the characteristics of the fuel," Döll explained.
In Döll's view, the biggest challenge facing the industry today is the delay in the International Maritime Organization's development of a "net-zero framework." "The IMO has produced a draft text for the net-zero framework, but because of major disagreements among member states, the originally scheduled vote was postponed by a year, and the delay in putting rules into effect has directly made investors more cautious," he said.
Döll further explained that there are currently 287 green methanol projects under construction or planned worldwide, but only 55 have actually begun construction and entered operation. "A large number of the remaining projects are on hold, all waiting for the final investment decision (FID) step. Investors' attitude is very clear: only after they can see how regulatory rules will be formulated and what the long-term prospects for green methanol are will they dare to place their bets."
Asked how to narrow the price gap between green methanol and conventional methanol, Döll said the core path is to build a sound regulatory framework. "As capacity for renewable fuels increases, consumption of conventional methanol will gradually be replaced, but this process is long. The prerequisite for coordination is to establish a globally unified set of regulatory rules and a certification system, so that new technologies and new projects gain recognition and pioneers receive incentive returns," he said.
Looking ahead to an ideal future energy ecosystem, Döll said that first, he hopes everyone in the world can have stable access to energy and that energy can be distributed fairly. "Whether living in Africa, Asia, Europe or the Americas, everyone should be able to participate fully in economic life, to live, to produce and to obtain healthy food, and none of these systems can function without energy," he said.
Second, Döll stressed that people should not regard the energy transition as a competition, and that different countries or markets should cooperate and learn from one another. "If only one or two markets are leading while all the others have to figure things out from scratch, efficiency will be very low and inequality will result," he said.
China is a crucial force in the energy transition
As the world's largest methanol producer and consumer, China occupies a pivotal position in the methanol supply chain, though part of its demand still needs to be met through imports. Döll believes that although domestic methanol capacity may have reached a phase-specific peak, China will remain the most important participant in the global methanol market. Beyond producing and consuming its own output, Chinese methanol also has the potential to be exported globally.
He also stressed, however, that global methanol supply cannot rely on China alone. The European Union and the United States are also increasing investment in key links of the supply chain, and methanol is a globalized industry that will continue to be globalized. As new regulatory rules are gradually implemented, the stability of the entire market will improve markedly.
Speaking about China's role in the global energy transition, Döll said, "Many ideas and technologies for green methanol production originate in China, and China is a crucial force in the energy transition. At the same time, China needs to open its door to the world, share the experience it has accumulated and help other participants advance together."
As a guest attending the Sustainable Global Leaders Conference for the first time, Döll also shared his impressions. "This is one of the best conferences I have ever attended. I often attend industry summits on aviation, methanol and shipping, but this conference is different. It brings together all kinds of participants along the energy transition chain, and that is what makes it unique. It pushes you to open up new ways of thinking. Everyone is open-minded and wants to interact, no longer confined to their own small circles, and that is very rare," he said.
Döll also shared his observations on China's development. "China's ability to develop to where it is today is first of all thanks to the five-year planning mechanism, which optimizes and adjusts on the basis of the existing framework every five years. This is China's advantage: it can keep investing and building along an established direction instead of wavering frequently," he said.
He admitted that what impressed him most when communicating in China was this: "Whether I am dealing with government officials or company executives, their first question is often 'What can I do to help?' And that goodwill is sincere, not an empty phrase. Everyone genuinely wants to do things better and is willing to help others succeed. I think these are exactly the elements needed for success, and this is also why I like coming to China. It always gives me a lot of strength."
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