The Hangzhou Asian Games offered a spectacular opening ceremony on Saturday, featuring swimming Olympic champion Wang Shun and a digital torchbearer lighting the cauldron. 　

The fuel used in the primary cauldron tower was carbon-zero methanol. This is the first time that the methanol fuel has been used in the history of the Asian Games.

The fuel and relevant technical solutions were provided by Geely, a carmaker based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

The company said the methanol was produced in its plant in Anyang, Henan province, using local industrial exhaust and then transported from the city to Hangzhou by Geely’s methanol-powered trucks.

Geely started to explore methanol-related technology around 20 years ago and has become a leading player in the sector across the world.

The carmaker has rolled out over 20 methanol-powered models, including passenger vehicles, trucks and buses.

Across the world it has built a fleet of over 27,000 such vehicles on the road, with their combined mileage reaching around 10 billion kilometers.

According to the China Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry Association, China produced 80.23 million tons of methanol in 2022, as the largest methanol producer and consumer in the world.

Methanol production involving renewable energy can capture carbon dioxide, said the association. It said producing one tonne of carbon-free ethnaol consumes 1.375 tons of the heat-trapping gas.

Geely said its plant in Anyang produces 110,000 tons of methanol a year, consuming up to 160,000 tons of carbon dixoide from industrial exhaust.