CRecREF Biogas-to-Bio-Methanol System

CRecTech Pte. Ltd. (Carbon Recycle Technologies) is a Singapore deep-tech company that spun out of the National University of Singapore. Its co-founder and CEO is Dr. Kang Hui Lim, and the website lists backers and partners including SGInnovate, Temasek, Breakthrough Energy, Enterprise Singapore, Shell StartUp Engine and A*STAR. The site does not state a founding year.

The CRecREF catalyst converts biogas, a mix of methane and CO2, into methanol in two steps instead of the conventional four, using CO2 as a reactant. The catalytic reactor sits in a shipping container with a stated baseline capacity of 10 kilo metric tonnes per year and is designed for installation near biogas sources. The target output is renewable bio-methanol for shipping and other industries.

• CRecREF catalyst: Converts biogas to methanol in two steps rather than four.
• CO2 as reactant: Carbon dioxide in biogas is used in the reaction.
• Containerised reactor: Baseline capacity of 10 kilo metric tonnes per year.
• Modular deployment: Quick setup near feedstock with connection to existing infrastructure.
• Low CAPEX/OPEX model: Avoids the capital cost of conventional large methanol plants.
• Green fuel output: Renewable bio-methanol for shipping and other industries.

Vietnamese livestock, starch or seafood processors with biogas surplus could pilot on-site methanol production. Industrial wastewater plants could convert captured biogas into a saleable fuel. Port and shipping fuel suppliers could evaluate modular bio-methanol supply.

The company states production costs can be up to 50% lower than conventional routes. The process skips some expensive gas-cleaning steps because the catalyst resists carbon build-up. Modular container units need a small footprint and lower upfront capital than large methanol plants. Bio-methanol can serve as a lower-carbon marine fuel. These figures are company claims.

Shipping lines and ports are seeking lower-carbon fuels such as methanol, while palm oil, livestock and food processing sites in Southeast Asia generate large volumes of biogas. Small distributed biogas sources are hard to serve with large methanol plants, which favours modular units.

Singapore, NUS spin-out; CEO Dr. Kang Hui Lim. Pilot MOU with Pertamina Power Indonesia dated 2 April 2026 (Sei Mangkei Special Economic Zone, Sumatra) and an earlier pilot MOU with Green Lagoon Technology in Malaysia. Finalist at the Climate Impact Innovations Challenge 2026 (Indonesia). Early-stage pilots rather than commercial plants.