Methanol Institute welcomes Maersk announcement on use of renewable methanol

Chris Chatterton, Chief Operating Officer of the Methanol Institute, said: “Maersk is once again showing industry leadership in adopting renewable Methanol as a key plank in its strategy towards carbon neutrality. Methanol is proven as a clean, efficient and safe marine fuel that offers immediate decarbonisation benefits to vessel operators with substantial net GHG reductions, full compliance with IMO2020 and a pathway that leads to net carbon neutrality as production of renewable Methanol grows.”

Maersk’s methanol feeder vessel will have a capacity of around 2000 TEU and be deployed in one of its intra-regional networks. While the vessel will be able to operate on standard VLSFO, the plan is to operate the vessel on carbon neutral e-methanol or sustainable bio-methanol from day one.

“It will be a significant challenge to source an adequate supply of carbon neutral methanol within our timeline to pioneer this technology. Our success relies on customers embracing this groundbreaking product and strengthened collaboration with fuel manufacturers, technology partners and developers to ramp up production fast enough. We believe our aspiration to put the world’s first carbon neutral liner vessel in operation by 2023 is the best way to kick start the rapid scaling of carbon neutral fuels we will need,” said Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, CEO of Fleet & Strategic Brands, A.P. Moller - Maersk.

Both the methanol-fuelled feeder vessel and the decision to install dual fuel engines on future newbuildings are part of Maersk’s ongoing fleet replacement.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/clean-fuels/18022021/methanol-institute-welcomes-maersk-announcement-on-use-of-renewable-methanol/