Maersk signs long-term biomethanol deal with Chinese player

COPENHAGEN, October 30, 2024 – Maersk has signed a long-term biomethanol offtake agreement with China’s LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., the global logistics player said on Wednesday.

Details on the volumes and timeframe were not provided, but the company said deliveries would commence in 2026.

Under the agreement, LONGi will deliver biomethanol produced from straw and fruit tree cuttings at a facility in Xu Chang, Central China. The product will meet Maersk’s methanol sustainability requirements including at least 65% reductions in GHG emissions on a lifecycle basis compared to fossil fuels.

Maersk has seven ships in operation that are capable of running on either methanol or oil-derived marine fuel. The company’s combined methanol offtake agreements now meet more than 50% of its dual-fuel methanol fleet demand for 2027.

“Bio- and e-methanol continue to be the most promising alternative shipping fuels to scale up in this decade, and the agreement with LONGi serves as a testament to this,” Maersk COO Rabab Raafat Boulos said.

“Global shipping’s main net-zero challenge is the price gap between fossil fuels and the alternatives with lower greenhouse gas emissions. We continue to strongly urge the International Maritime Organization’s member states to level the playing field by adopting a global green fuel standard and an ambitious pricing mechanism which the industry urgently needs.”

In August, the Danish company’s CEO took to LinkedIn to call for penalties for fossil fuel use in shipping.

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