Debo plans to build a 200,000 t/y plant from agricultural residues, and commercial operations are scheduled to start by autumn 2024.

“The use of green methanol as marine fuel to replace the existing fossil fuel is groundbreaking in the container shipping history and will strongly promote the development of green shipping,” said Zhang Shoujun, Debo’s chairman and general manager. Together, the partners will be able to realize the commercial production and industrial conversion of green methanol and contribute to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, he added.

Maersk’s head of green fuels sourcing, Berit Hinnemann, added that the availability of green methanol at scale is critical to its fleet’s transition to sustainable energy. The shipping line has set 2040 as its goal for achieving net-zero emissions.

In March, the shipping group announced partnerships with six companies, namely CIMC ENRIC, European Energy, Green Technology Bank, Orsted, Proman and WasteFuel, with the intent of sourcing at least 730,000 t/y of green methanol by the end of 2025 – well above that needed for its first 12 green container vessels currently on order. The vessels will each have capacity of 16,000 containers.

Maersk added that it will keep working with a wide-ranging group of leading companies on these and further projects to accelerate the urgent transition to green energy.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist