Maersk (Maersk. CO) announced on Wednesday that it has signed the first significant deal in the shipping industry to purchase 500,000 metric tons of green methanol annually from China’s Goldwind (002202. SZ), which is sufficient to power 12 large oceangoing container ships.
Maersk, the leader in the shipping sector, is putting money into renewable energy sources to run its fleet and achieve net-zero emissions by 2040. The sector as a whole, which contributes 3% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, wants to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Chief Infrastructure Officer Rabab Raafat Boulos of Maersk stated, “This deal is a milestone for Maersk as it enables us to reduce our emissions footprint in this decade significantly.”
Half of the 24 methanol-enabled vessels that Maersk presently has on order will be powered annually by green methanol production, which is anticipated to start in 2026.
Maersk Laura, the first methanol-fueled ship in the world, was delivered to the Danish shipping company in July. In the first quarter of 2024, the company is still expecting the delivery of its first sizable oceangoing vessel.
Compared to traditional fossil fuels, green methanol, a fuel made from biomass or hydrogen and absorbing carbon from renewable energy sources, can cut emissions from container ships by 60% to 95%.
Goldwind’s fuel volumes consist of a blend of green bio-methanol and e-methanol, generated in a recently established production facility in Hinggan League, northeast China, using wind energy.
Maersk’s principal owner, the Danish industrial conglomerate A.P. Moller Holding (APMH), established a new business named C2X in September to pursue large-scale green methanol operations.
A month later, the business inked a framework deal to manufacture green fuel in the economic zone around the Suez Canal, with a potential value of $3 billion.
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