Maersk secures green e-methanol deal to fuel its first carbon neutral container vessel

Maersk has partnered with the Danish renewable energy firm, European Energy, to produce green fuel for its first vessel to operate on carbon neutral methanol.

European Energy and REintegrate, a subsidiary of European Energy, will produce 10,000 tonnes of carbon neutral e-methanol in the Danish facility, that Maersk’s vessel will consume annually.

Maersk will work closely with REintegrate and European Energy on the development of the facility.

Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, CEO of Fleet & Strategic Brands, A.P. Moller - Maersk, said: “This type of partnership could become a blueprint for how to scale green fuel production through collaboration with partners across the industry ecosystem, and it will provide us with valuable experiences as we are progressing on our journey to decarbonise our customers’ supply chains.”

“Sourcing the fuels of the future is a significant challenge, and we need to be able to scale production in time. This agreement with European Energy/REintegrate brings us on track to deliver on our ambition to have the world’s first container vessel operated on carbon neutral methanol on the water by 2023.”

The facility is expected to start e-methanol production by 2023, coinciding with the launch date of the ship. Renewable energy and biogenic CO2 will be used in the production of the carbon neutral fuel.

This project will maintain its sustainability by using a solar farm in Southern Denmark to provide the required energy for the power-to-methanol production.

Knud Erik Andersen, CEO of European Energy, said: “We’re proud to be a part of the first large scale e-methanol production in Denmark. While renewable energy is becoming more and more common in the energy mix of electricity consumption, this is one of the first steps in heavy transportation towards using 100% renewable energy. This agreement marks a milestone in the journey towards green transition in the shipping industry.”