A.P. Moller – Maersk wants green methanol production at scale by 2025

The six companies are CIMC ENRIC, European Energy, Green Technology Bank, Orsted, Proman, and WasteFuel.

With this production capacity, by the end of 2025 at the latest, Maersk will reach well beyond the green methanol needed for the first 12 green 16,000 teu container vessels currently on order. Once fully developed these projects of both bio- and e-methanol will enable Maersk to source green methanol at scale across several regions around the globe.

“To transition towards decarbonisation, we need a significant and timely acceleration in the production of green fuels. Green methanol is the only market-ready and scalable available solution today for shipping. Production must be increased through collaboration across the ecosystem and around the world. That is why these partnerships mark an important milestone to get the transition to green energy underway,” said Henriette Hallberg Thygesen CEO of Fleet & Strategic Brands, A.P. Moller – Maersk.

CIMC ENRIC will develop bio-methanol projects for Maersk in China. The phase one project will have a capacity to produce 50,000 tonnes/year of green methanol, starting in 2024. The second phase of the project will have a capacity produce of 200,000 tonnes/year with start date to be determined. The feedstock for the bio-methanol will be agricultural residues. Maersk intends to offtake the full volume produced.

European Energy is a global renewable energy company and project developer (wind, solar and Power to X). It develops, builds, and operates renewable electricity projects globally with a pipeline consisting of 20 GW renewable energy capacity. European Energy will produce e-methanol for Maersk´s first green feeder vessel, which is expected to be on the water by 2023. The company will also develop e-methanol projects in Latin America and the United States that will have a capacity to produce up to 200-300,000 tonnes annually of e-methanol starting in 2025/2026. Maersk intends to offtake the full volume produced on long-term contracts to help its customers realize their own ambitious emission targets.

Green Technology Bank (GTB) was established in 2016 by the Chinese government with the priority task to fulfill the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. GTB will facilitate development of bio-methanol projects in China together with project developers to be identified. The first project is planned to have a capacity to produce 50,000 tonnes/year starting from 2024, and the second project is planned to have a capacity to produce 300,000 tonnes/year at a start date to be determined. The green methanol produced will rely entirely on resources available in China.

Orsted aims at becoming a global leader within Power-to-X and currently has a development pipeline of 11 projects across several hard-to-abate sectors. Partnering with Maersk, Orsted will develop an e-methanol project in the US that will have a capacity to produce 300,000 tonnes/year starting 2025. Maersk intends to offtake the full volume produced.

“The maritime industry faces a chicken-and-egg challenge, where the supply and demand of green fuels will have to evolve in parallel to fast ensure a sustainable development of zero emission fuels. Orsted is very pleased to partner with A.P. Moller – Maersk to address this challenge by scaling green fuel production together with an industry leader in the maritime sector,” said Martin Neubert, Deputy CEO and Chief Commercial Officer at Orsted.

Proman is an integrated energy company and the world’s second largest methanol producer. The company will aim to supply Maersk with 100,000 – 150,000 tonnes/year of green methanol from its in-development facility in North America. The project will be built by Proman with target start of operations in 2025, producing bio-methanol from non-recyclable forestry residues and municipal solid waste.

WasteFuel is a California-based start-up addressing the climate emergency by transforming unrecovered waste into sustainable fuels using proven technologies. The company is developing a bio-methanol project in South America that will produce over 30,000 tons per year starting in 2024. Maersk intends to offtake the full volume produced.

NB Proman expects to produce up to 200,000 t/yr of methanol from its new facility, of which it aims to supply 100-150,000 t/yr to Maersk.