Maersk looks to accelerate green fuel production in Egypt

Maersk signed an MoU in the presence of the Egyptian Prime Minister aimed at further accelerating the supply of green fuels and the global transformation to net-zero shipping. The parties will be conducting a feasibility study before the end of 2022 to examine an Egypt-based hydrogen and green marine fuel production, powered by renewable energy with Maersk as committed off-taker.

The partnership follows six fuel sourcing partnerships announced earlier this month, and with the new MoU Maersk joins forces with the General Authority for Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), the Egyptian New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA), the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt for Investment and Development (TSFE).

“Egypt has excellent conditions for renewable energy production and ambitions to become global leader in the green energy value chain. We are very excited to be able to explore options together, drawing on our more than 100 years of business relations in the country,” says Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, CEO, Fleet & Strategic Brands, Maersk.

“The availability of green energy and fuel in sufficient quantities and at cost competitive price levels is the single biggest challenge to the decarbonisation of global shipping. For Maersk, our recently announced strategic partnerships with six industry leading companies are key in addressing this challenge, but to stay on the 1.5-degree pathway even more scale is needed within this decade. That is what this partnership is exploring,” she said.

Ayman Soliman, CEO of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt, said; “This partnership presents a unique opportunity to strengthen a longstanding relationship with a key strategic partner to the Egyptian Government over the last 100 years. Specifically for The Sovereign Fund of Egypt, this potential opportunity adds a new dimension to our roadmap towards zero emission targets. Maersk’s bid to accelerate the supply of green fuels and the global transformation to net-zero shipping will expand the Suez Canal’s service offering as a main global hub for green bunkering in the region.”

Maersk intends to explore similar opportunities in other regions with strong potential for renewable energy development, drawing on business and governmental relations to facilitate opportunities for nations and commercial players to embrace the rapid acceleration in green fuel production that is key to the decarbonisation of shipping.

The agreement forms part of a number of Egyptian agreements to develop alternative fuel production facilities. The Motorship reported on a proposal to develop a 1GW waste to hydrogen facility at East Suez Port in February 2022.