Maersk and SunGas Renewables form green methanol partnership

Danish shipping and logistics giant A.P. Moller – Maersk has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with US-based SunGas Renewables, Inc., a spin-out of GTI Energy, to form strategic green methanol partnership as part of its strategy to decarbonise customers’ supply chain.

With this LoI, SunGas joins eight other strategic partners 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.

The 19 vessels that will be put in operation during 2023-2025 will require approximately 750.000 tonnes of green methanol.

The deal 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 have an annual production capacity of approximately 390,000 tonnes.

SunGas noted that its facilities will utilise its flagship System 1000 platform to convert sustainably sourced residues from the forestry and wood products industries into green methanol.

“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. 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”, said Emma Mazhari, Head of Green Sourcing and Portfolio Management, A.P. Moller – 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 decarbonisation of the entire marine shipping industry and look forward to working together to accelerate the growth of production capacity for green methanol marine fuels”, added Robert Rigdon, CEO of SunGas.