Maersk expects to purchase all 400,000 tonnes of green methanol that the US company SunGas expects to be able to deliver in 2027.

So far, Maersk has not signed any actual contracts with the group of green energy suppliers that the transportation and logistics group has tasked with producing green fuel for its fleet of dual-fuel ships.

The same goes for SunGas. A few weeks ago announced that it will invest USD 2 billion in a new production facility to be located in Louisiana.

At the same time, the US company limited itself to stating that it was ”expected” that Maersk will use the green methanol on its new ships.

Committed to it all

For now, the partnership between the two companies is based on a letter of intent. 

ShippingWatch has therefore asked Maersk to comment on what it will take in the development of the green fuel for the letter of intent to be replaced by an actual contract? 

Further, whether SunGas could, in principle, choose another buyer if a really good offer came along the day the price for green methanol is known.

”Maersk is excited to partner with SunGas Renewables, which is pioneering a truly large-scale pathway to green methanol with its renewable energy facility in Louisiana. Maersk is committed to offtake the full volume from the SunGas facility,” Emma Mazhari, head of energy markets at Maersk, said in a comment to ShippingWatch.

”The market for green methanol is in its wake and barely existed when Maersk ordered its first green methanol-enabled vessel. Today, the industry has more than 100 vessels in the order books. The leadership shown by SunGas Renewables and other pioneers is aiding the market growth and helping Maersk to deliver valuable services to our customers and advance towards our 2040 net zero emissions target.”

Production from 2027

The company has so far ordered 25 ships that can run on methanol, the first of which is on its way to Copenhagen now.

It was back in December 2022 that Maersk entered into a partnership with SunGas and others to supply green methanol. 

In addition, agreements were signed with Carbon Sink, CIMC ENRIC, Debo, European Energy, Green Technology Bank, Ørsted, Proman, and Wastefuel. And a month ago, an agreement was signed with Dutch OCI Global, because the delivery of green methanol from European Energy was delayed.

Maersk has also made no secret of the fact that it is a complicated process to get the production of green methanol up and running, making it difficult for the shipping company to secure the green fuel.

When the agreement with SunGas was announced, it was expected that production could start in 2026, which is now 2027.

(This article was provided by our sister media, ShippingWatch)

(Translated using DeepL with additional editing by Christian Radich Hoffman)