Danish delivery large Maersk has signed its largest inexperienced methanol offtake settlement so far. The settlement, made with Chinese language developer Goldwind, will gas the primary 12 massive methanol-enabled Maersk vessels on order.
Maersk mentioned groundbreaking deal marks the primary large-scale inexperienced methanol offtake settlement for the worldwide delivery business. Underneath the settlement, Goldwind will provide Maersk with 500,000 tonnes of inexperienced methanol yearly, with the primary volumes anticipated in 2026.
“This deal is a milestone for Maersk because it allows us to considerably cut back our emissions footprint on this decade and keep aligned with the 1.5-degree Celsius trajectory as set out within the Paris Settlement, making certain continued provide of low carbon delivery companies to our clients within the second half of this decade,” mentioned Rabab Raafat Boulos, Chief Infrastructure Officer at A.P. Moller – Maersk.
Maersk has set formidable targets to attain net-zero greenhouse fuel emissions by 2040 throughout its enterprise. To satisfy these targets, the corporate took supply of its first inexperienced methanol-fueled ship this previous summer time—a 2,100 TEU capability feeder vessel named Laura Maersk. It additionally has on order 24 further inexperienced methanol-powered ships, comprised of twelve 16,000 TEU and 6 17,000 TEU ships being constructed by Hyundai Heavy Industries, with deliveries in 2024 and 2025, and 6 further 9,000 TEU ships from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding in China. The six deliveries are deliberate in 2026 and 2027.
Maersk mentioned the settlement with Goldwind will play a vital function in de-risking the preliminary levels of Maersk’s net-zero transition and helps the event of a aggressive inexperienced methanol market by 2030. The annual volumes concerned on this settlement can energy greater than half of Maersk’s methanol-enabled capability at the moment on order.
Wu Gang, Chairman at Goldwind, expressed his assist for Maersk’s pioneering efforts in maritime inexperienced gas and the joint promotion of the inexperienced transition.
“With this undertaking, Goldwind will proceed to discover the revolutionary software of recent applied sciences, pursue the natural mixture of inexperienced electrical energy and inexperienced gas manufacturing, and optimize the manufacturing technique of inexperienced methanol. Goldwind is dedicated to collaborating with corporations concerned within the inexperienced methanol business, with the intention to make inexperienced methanol one of the vital vital and economically possible clear maritime fuels sooner or later,” Gang mentioned.
The volumes equipped beneath the settlement will include a mixture of inexperienced bio-methanol and e-methanol, all produced utilizing wind vitality at a brand new manufacturing facility in Hinggan League, Northeast China. The power, positioned round 1000km northeast of Beijing, is predicted to start manufacturing in 2026. Goldwind anticipates making a remaining funding resolution for the ability by the tip of the yr.
Rabab Raafat Boulos emphasised the significance of the settlement. “We’re inspired by the settlement as a result of its scale and worth verify our view that inexperienced methanol at the moment is probably the most viable low-emission resolution for ocean delivery that may make a major impression on this decade,” he mentioned. “Nevertheless, we nonetheless have an extended technique to go in making certain a world inexperienced fuels market that may allow the decarbonization of world delivery.
Maersk is ready to take supply of its first massive ocean-going methanol-enabled ship (16,000 TEU) within the first quarter of 2024. The corporate is actively working with world companions to supply options for the complete vessel collection to be delivered in 2024-25.
