A.P. Moller-Maersk has announced that its European Energy subsidiary REintegrate would generate green fuel for the company's first carbon-neutral methanol-powered vessel.

REintegrate and European Energy will build a new plant in Denmark to generate the 10,000 tonnes of carbon-neutral e-methanol required yearly to power Maersk's first green e-methanol-capable vessel.

“This type of partnership could become a blueprint for how to scale green fuel production through collaboration with partners across the industry ecosystem, and it will provide us with valuable experiences as we are progressing on our journey to decarbonise our customers’ supply chains. Sourcing the fuels of the future is a significant challenge, and we need to be able to scale production in time,” says Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, CEO of Fleet & Strategic Brands, A.P. Moller - Maersk. 

This agreement with European Energy/REintegrate brings us on track to deliver on our ambition to have the world’s first container vessel operated on carbon neutral methanol on the water by 2023,” he added.

Maersk said the methanol facility will use renewable energy and biogenic CO2 to produce the e-methanol. The fuel production is expected to start in 2023 — and the energy needed for the power-to-methanol production will be provided by a solar farm in Kassø, Southern Denmark.   

REintegrate has a proven track record for producing green e-methanol with a test laboratory in Aalborg. The new facility will be its third e-methanol facility, as they are also constructing an e-methanol facility in Skive with start-up 2022.

“We’re proud to be a part of the first large scale e-methanol production in Denmark. While renewable energy is becoming more and more common in the energy mix of electricity consumption, this is one of the first steps in heavy transportation towards using 100% renewable energy. This agreement marks a milestone in the journey towards green transition in the shipping industry,” said Knud Erik Andersen, CEO, European Energy.

While the renewable energy will be produced in Southern Jutland, the location of the power-to-methanol facility in Denmark has yet to be determined.

The 2,100-teu fuel-burning feeder will be built by Hyundai Mipo Dockyards. The first methanol feeder in the world will be 172 meters long and will join the Maersk fleet in mid-2023.

It will operate on the Baltic maritime route between Northern Europe and the Bay of Bothnia, as part of the Sealand Europe network, a Maersk affiliate. The Danish flag will be flown on it.