A.P. Moller - Maersk (Maersk) announced that it entered a green methanol Letter of Intent with U.S.-based SunGas Renewables, Inc., as part of its strategy to decarbonize customers' supply chains.

The Letter of Intent covers the production of green methanol from multiple facilities to be developed by SunGas in the United States from which Maersk intends to offtake full volumes of green methanol.

The first facility is expected to begin operations in 2026 and has an annual production capacity of approximately 390,000 tonnes.

SunGas Renewables —  a clean energy and technology solutions company based in Houston, Texas —  is a spin-out of GTI Energy, aiming for large-scale production of renewable fuels. 

Maersk said this is its 9th partnership to accelerate green methanol's global production capacity.

"Securing green marine fuels at a global scale within this decade will require rapid scale-up of green methanol production capacity using a variety of technology and feedstock pathways," said Emma Mazhari, head of green sourcing and portfolio management, A.P. Moller - Maersk.

"We are very pleased to welcome SunGas Renewables as a strategic partner in our efforts to achieve our goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2040 across our entire business, and to ensure meaningful progress is made within this decade in line with the Paris Agreement," Mazhari added.

The SunGas facilities will utilize its flagship System 1000 platform to convert sustainably sourced residues from the forestry and wood products industries into green methanol, according to Maersk.

"Our partnership with Maersk marks an important milestone for SunGas as we continue our mission to make a global impact in the energy transition. We applaud Maersk's leadership in catalyzing decarbonization of the entire marine shipping industry and look forward to working together to accelerate the growth of production capacity for green methanol marine fuels," said Robert Rigdon, CEO of SunGas.

SunGas joins eight other strategic partners of Maersk working to supply the green fuel needed for the 19 methanol-enabled container vessels Maersk currently has on order. 

The other partners are Carbon Sink, CIMC ENRIC, Debo, European Energy, Green Technology Bank, Orsted, Proman, and Wastefuel.