What’s new: Chinese wind-turbine maker Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co. Ltd. (002202.SZ) has won a long-term contract to supply green methanol to A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, as the Danish container shipping giant works to cut its emissions and provide low-carbon shipping services.
Under the agreement, Goldwind will supply 500,000 tons a year of methanol made using wind energy produced at its proposed facility in the prefecture of Hinggan League, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, some 1,000 kilometers northeast of Beijing, A.P. Moller-Maersk said in a statement on Wednesday. The value of the deal was not disclosed.
Production is expected to begin in 2026 and the supply, a mix of green bio-methanol and e-methanol, will be used to power the first 12 large methanol-enabled container vessels that A.P. Moller-Maersk has on order, the company said. Its first large ocean-going, methanol-powered container vessel will be delivered in the first quarter of 2024, with the remainder due for delivery by 2025.
The background: The global shipping industry accounts for some 3% of all greenhouse gas emissions and in July, members of the International Maritime Organization, the global regulatory body for shipping, agreed to achieve net zero emissions by, or around, 2050.
A.P. Moller-Maersk said the Goldwind deal marked the first large-scale green methanol offtake agreement for the global shipping industry, and is part of the company’s strategy to decarbonize its operations and reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its entire business by 2040.
Goldwind Chairman Wu Gang said the company is committed to collaborating with businesses involved in the green methanol industry to make it one of the most important and economically feasible clean maritime fuels.
Read more In Depth: Low-Carbon Transition Has China’s Shipbuilders Seeing Green
Contact reporter Ding Yi (yiding@caixin.com) and editor Nerys Avery (nerysavery@caixin.com)
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