INSTITUTE, W.Va— A project that has been in the works for around six years now, the methanol manufacturing facility in Kanawha County is finally complete, and it’s the first of its kind to get established in the Mountain State.
Governor Jim Justice, Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin, among other West Virginia and U.S representatives joined officials from KKCG, a Czech Republic and Switzerland-based investment and innovation company to recognize the official opening of US Methanol in Institute Monday.
With more than $250 million invested in the project and the onset of nearly 60 employees, the West Virginia methanol plant, known as Liberty One is poised to provide approximately 200,000 metric tons of the organic chemical on a yearly-basis.
Senator Capito told the press Monday at the celebratory event of the project’s opening, that it marks a resurgence of chemical plants in West Virginia.
“We have a history here, of chemicals and productions that have really fueled the country, and this site here at Institute, when Union Carbide was here and Dow was here was full, and now it’s being filled again,” Capito said.
Methanol is used to manufacture electronics, silicone sealants, building materials, plastics and polymers.
Much of the methanol produced today is derived from fossil fuels, and its clean-burning, quickly-biodegradable components are what Manchin said, will in turn, potentially lead to cleaner fossil fuel production.
“West Virginia and the United States of America is going to be using fossil, we want to make sure we are doing it cleaner than anywhere in the world, and when we do that, we’ll replace the dirtier fuels that do not have the same value as what we have or the same restrictions that we have,” Manchin said.
KKCG, the parent company of US Methanol, has operations in 36 different countries.
Founder and Chairman of KKCG, Karel Komarek said they chose West Virginia as a methanol production site for many beneficial reasons.
“It made a lot of sense for us, why West Virginia, it’s a great location where we can have a green field and a brown field for manufacturing,” he said.
However, he said getting the plant here wasn’t a simple feat.
“To be frank, it wasn’t always easy, it didn’t come easy at all, because of environmental-related challenges and the subsequent economic headwinds simply conspired against us and pushed deadlines,” said Komarek.
The plant operated at a former site in Rio de Janerio, Brazil but had to shut down due to economic conditions there. Following its closure, the facility was taken apart and its pieces were reassembled at its new location within the Institute Industrial complex.
Manchin said with all of the energy-producing prospects already here, and with the area’s longstanding reputation as a chemical valley, US Methanol will only add to the opportunities to come.
“West Virginia is an energy hub, this is something we’ve been doing for a long time, and now with the plentiful amount of energy with have, it’s going to be more attractive,” said Manchin.
As the methanol production site isn’t far from West Virginia State University, the recognition ceremony and panel discussion about the company was held at Davis Fine Arts Center on the WVSU campus, and university president, Ericke Cage was also in attendance Monday.