A.P. Moller - Maersk has speeded up its decarbonisation plans, announcing today that it will have a methanol-fuelled feeder vessel on the water in 2023, piloting a scalable carbon-neutral product to customers and offering fuel suppliers incentive to scale production of the fuels of the future.
According to a statement, fast-tracked by advances in technology and increasing customer demand for sustainable supply chains, the company will launch the vessel seven years ahead of the initial 2030 ambition.
All future Maersk-owned newbuildings will have dual-fuel technology installed, enabling either carbon-neutral operations or operation on standard very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO)
“A.P. Moller - Maersk’s ambition is to lead the way in decarbonising global logistics,” says APM CEO Søren Skou.
“Our ambition to have a carbon-neutral fleet by 2050 was a moonshot when we announced it in 2018. Today we see it as a challenging, yet achievable target to reach.”
Around half of Maersk’s 200 largest customers have set – or are in the process of setting – ambitious science-based or zero-carbon targets for their supply chains, and the figure is on the rise, he adds.
Maersk’s methanol feeder vessel will have a capacity of around 2000 TEUs 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 it 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 kickstart the rapid scaling of carbon-neutral fuels we will need,” says Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, the company’s CEO of fleet & strategic brands.
Both the methanol-fuelled feeder and the decision to install dual-fuel engines on future newbuildings are part of Maersk’s ongoing fleet replacement strategy. According to the statement Capex implications will be manageable and are included in current guidance.
A carbon-neutral future for shipping requires innovation, test and collaboration across multiple industry partners, the company points out. “Maersk is continuing to explore several carbon-neutral fuel pathways and expects multiple fuel solutions to exist alongside each other in the future. Methanol (e-methanol and bio-methanol), alcohol-lignin blends and ammonia remain the primary fuel candidates for the future.”
A key collaboration partner is the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, an independent, non-profit research and development centre that works across sectors, organisations, research areas and regulators to accelerate the development and implementation of new energy systems and technologies.
