Lego to use green methanol for plastic bricks

Lego, a Daish toymaker, agreed to buy e-methanol for use in its colorful plastic bricks. E-methanol is a lower-carbon alternative to conventional plastic ingredients.The company has agreed to start using e-methanol when the world’s first large-scale plant starts operations next year.

European Energy, which is developing the plant in Aabenraa, Denmark, said Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk will also buy e-methanol to substitute fossil-based plastic in insulin pens and other medical devices.

The plant will begin producing 32,000 tons of e-methanol per year from 2024. The production will be based on energy from wind and solar plants as well as biogenic carbon dioxide.

Shipping company Maersk already last year agreed to purchase half of the company’s e-methanol capacity at the plant.

Around 100 million tons of methanol is currently produced from fossil fuels each year. Roughly two-thirds are used in the chemical industry, and the rest in transportation, according to European Energy.