Global Methanol Electric Ecosystem Alliance Launched with Geely Farizon, Chery and Others Joining

The 2026 High-Level Forum on Intelligent Electric Vehicles opened in Beijing on April 11, during which the "Global Methanol Electric Ecosystem Alliance" was officially launched. Initiated by the China EV100 Research Institute, the alliance aims to establish a global cooperative platform for the methanol-electric industry, encompassing automakers, off-road machinery manufacturers, core component suppliers, energy companies, research institutions, industry associations, and investment organizations, to promote the global application and ecosystem development of methanol-based technologies. Founding members include the China Automotive Technology & Research Center, the Expert Advisory Committee for Methanol Vehicle Promotion under China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the Global Methanol Institute, Geely’s Farizon New Energy Commercial Vehicles, Bosch Smart Mobility Group China, Chery Commercial Vehicles, Yuchai Group, JAC Motors, WEIFU High-Technology Group, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Daylong Petroleum. The alliance’s inaugural event, the “Methanol Electric Forum 2026,” is scheduled to take place in Hong Kong in June 2026. At the forum, Li Shufu, Chairman of Geely Holding Group, noted that methanol has an energy density roughly ten times higher than that of lithium-ion batteries. Under equivalent payload capacity, battery electric vehicles weigh about twice as much as methanol-powered electric vehicles, resulting in higher energy consumption. He emphasized that although lithium battery electric vehicles have achieved large-scale adoption and widespread consumer acceptance in China, methanol electric vehicles still hold significant R&D potential due to their lightweight advantages—this being the key reason behind Geely’s long-term commitment to methanol vehicle technology development.