In a move to secure enough methanol to transition to net zero by 2040, Maersk has entered into yet another methanol partnership, this time with Debo of China. The letter of intent states that Debo would provide 200,000 tonnes of methanol to Maersk annually by the fall of 2024.
Debo is to develop a biomethanol project for Maersk in China. The feedstock for producing this methanol will be agricultural residues, and Maersk has assured that it will offtake the entire 200,000 tonnes of methanol produced by the plant.
Maersk states that biomethanol is the only fuel at present that can provide a scalable solution for the emissions problem. They have chosen to forego the route of the transition fuel, LNG, which is popular among other players in the industry. The goal of Maersk is to obtain a supply of 730,000 tonnes of methanol per year by the end of 2025 for its new fleet of vessels currently under construction. In 2021, Maersk ordered 12 ships with a capacity of 16,000 TEU from the South Korean shipbuilder, Hyundai Heavy Industries, and one feeder vessel from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. All these new vessels are dual fuel, operating on both methanol and conventional low sulphur fuel.
The opinions expressed herein are the author’s and not necessarily those of News2Sea.