Maersk enters deal for half a million tonnes of green methanol annually (updated)

Goldwind Science & Technology Co

22/11/2023 15:46

(Adds Head of Energy Transition quotes in paragraphs 3-8)
    By Johannes Birkebaek
       COPENHAGEN, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Maersk  MAERSKb.CO  on
Wednesday announced it had entered into the shipping industry's
first large-scale agreement for green methanol from China's
Goldwind  002202.SZ , and said production of green methanol was
high on the political agenda in China.
    Shipping industry leader Maersk is investing in green fuels
to power its fleet as it strives to reach net-zero emissions by
2040, while the shipping industry, responsible for 3% of global
greenhouse gas emissions, aims for net-zero emissions by 2050.
    "There's a lot of activity in China in this field for sure.
It's because they have the natural resources that you need and
it also seems to be high on the political agenda," Maersk's Head
of Energy Transition Morten Bo Christiansen told Reuters.  
    Christiansen declined to comment on the deal value, but said
its size of half a million tonnes of green methanol annually was
significant enough to answer sceptics who have questioned the
possibility of signing large agreements on green methanol.
    "I think it's also a way of showing that it can be done. And
there are companies out there who are willing to produce this at
a cost that a shipping company feels they can afford," he said.
    Maersk is also looking to green methanol projects in other
parts of the world to create a more balanced portfolio.
    "It's definitely likely that we will sign up more volumes
from China ... But hopefully also from other countries,"
Christiansen said.
    "We have much more in the pipeline," Christiansen said, and
added "I think if we could get one more deal the size of this
one, we would be good for the ships we have on order." 
    Deliveries of Goldwind's green methanol is expected to begin
in 2026 and will annually power 12 large ocean-going container
ships of the 24 methanol-enabled vessels Maersk currently has on
order.
        The volumes of fuel from Goldwind combine a mix of green
bio-methanol and e-methanol, all produced by utilising wind
energy at a new production facility located in Hinggan League,
northeast China.  
    In September, Danish industrial group A.P. Moller Holding
(APMH), majority-owner of Maersk, formed a new company called
C2X to pursue large-scale green methanol operations.
    The company, a month later, signed a framework agreement
worth up to $3 billion for the production of green fuel in the
Suez Canal economic zone.  

 (Reporting by Johannes Birkebaek; editing by David Evans,
Louise Rasmussen)
 ((Johannes.Birkebaek@thomsonreuters.com;))