US shale methanol soon en route to China

China is investing heavily in North American shale gas in order to commercially extract methanol for use as an environmentally sustainable motor fuel, a leading executive behind the multibillion-dollar project said.

Spearheaded by Shanghai Bi Ke Clean Energy Technology Co Ltd, a State-owned enterprise focused on methanol production, a plant has been set up in the state of Washington to produce methanol from the shale gas, said Wu Lebin, chairman of Bi Ke's parent - the Chinese Academy of Sciences Holdings Co Ltd.

He said the plant had attracted $6 billion in funding from both Chinese and United States investors.