A.P. Moller – Maersk and Norway-based energy company Equinor have signed an agreement securing supply of green methanol for Maersk’s new methanol-enabled feeder vessel during its initial months of operation from September 2023 and into the first half of 2024.
The deal ensures green methanol supply for the ship from its entry into operation on a loop from Northern Europe into the Baltic Sea after the name-giving ceremony later this month in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The green methanol will be bunkered in the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
“Equinor is pleased to be partnering up with Maersk in delivering greener fuels to the marine industry. Equinor is an established player in the European methanol market through its production plant at Tjeldbergodden and we have ambitions to be a key provider of green methanol in the marine fuel segment,” stated Alex Grant, senior vice president for the liquid commodity segment at Equinor.
Biomethanol is made from manure-derived biogas. The biogas is converted to biomethane and put into the existing gas grid, and methanol is generated on a mass-balance basis from the biomethane in the grid.
Furthermore, the present European biogas certificate system is used to trace the properties of biomethane to biomethanol and avoid double-claims. Green methanol may thus be manufactured in current facilities utilizing existing infrastructure and equipment, allowing for a rapid route to market.
The technology can help to create a greener gas grid by collecting harmful methane emissions that would otherwise be produced by the manure feedstock. In compliance with the EU Renewable Energy Directive, biomethanol is ISCC EU certified.
Long term, the feeder vessel will be fuelled by e-methanol from a plant in Southern Denmark, operated by European Energy, which is expected to come on-stream in the first half of the next year.
