Maersk Inks Agreement for Green Methanol with Chinese Developer Goldwind

The groundbreaking agreement between Maersk and leading Chinese clean energy developer, Goldwind, represents a pivotal moment in the global shipping industry. This deal, recognized as the first large-scale green methanol offtake agreement in the sector, carries significant implications for Maersk's ambitious net-zero journey and sets the stage for a competitive green methanol market by 2030, according to a statement from Maersk. The substantial volumes involved could annually fuel over half of Maersk's methanol-enabled capacity that is currently on order, aligning with the company's commitment to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its operations by 2040.

Rabab Raafat Boulos, Chief Infrastructure Officer at Maersk, lauds the agreement as a milestone, asserting its role in substantially reducing the company's emissions footprint in the current decade. The strategic move positions Maersk in alignment with the 1.5-degree Celsius trajectory outlined in the Paris Agreement, ensuring a continued supply of low-carbon shipping services in the latter half of this decade.

Wu Gang, Chairman of Goldwind, expresses respect for Maersk's pioneering role in maritime green fuel and articulates enthusiasm for jointly fostering the green transition. Goldwind, committed to exploring innovative applications of new technologies, emphasizes the organic fusion of green electricity and green fuel production. The objective is to optimize the production process of green methanol, with Goldwind aspiring to play a key role in making green methanol one of the foremost and economically feasible clean maritime fuels in the future.

A notable aspect of the agreement is the blend of green bio-methanol and e-methanol volumes, produced utilizing wind energy at a state-of-the-art facility in Hinggan League, Northeast China. This facility, situated approximately 1000 km northeast of Beijing, is poised to commence production in 2026. Following the signed offtake agreement, Goldwind anticipates finalizing a crucial investment decision for the facility by the year's end.

Boulos expresses encouragement about the agreement, citing its scale and price as affirmations of the view that green methanol currently stands as the most viable low-emission solution for ocean shipping. This deal underscores the momentum and concerted efforts witnessed among ambitious developers driving projects forward on a global scale. While acknowledging progress, Boulos notes that there is still a considerable journey ahead to establish a global green fuels market that can effectively facilitate the decarbonization of global shipping.

Maersk's imminent delivery of its first large ocean-going methanol-enabled vessel, a 16,000 TEU capacity vessel slated for the first quarter of 2024, is a testament to its commitment. The corporation is actively engaging with a varied array of international partners to procure solutions for the complete series of vessels set to be delivered in 2024-25.