Green methanol supply chain starts coming together
Written by Nick Blenkey
Green methanol supply chain in action: First of its kind 2,100 TEU box ship was bunkered with 1,000 tonnes of bio-methanol in Ulsan. [Image: OTK]
When LNG first started gaining traction as a marine fuel, there was a lot of talk about chickens in eggs around issues of supply, demand an infrastructure. With methanol, it seems like the hens have already started laying. In a sign of how the green methanol supply chain is starting to come together, Rose Cay Maritime LLC, the Houston-headquartered Jones Act ATB specialist that operates a fleet of former Bouchard Transportation vessels, has reached an agreement with Arlington, Va., headquartered green methanol producer Carbon Sink LLC.
The agreement outlines a plan for increasing green fuel production, transportation, bunkering and storage specifically tailored for the shipping sector. Carbon Sink, which is developing large-scale green methanol production facilities across the U.S., says that Rose Cay Maritime’s capabilities will provide it with a “robust platform to seamlessly link its green methanol projects to customers by offering end-to-end logistic solutions.”
Two take-aways from this agreement would seem to be that volume production of green methanol is starting to take place and, significantly, delivering it to ships will not require specialized bunkering vessels packed with expensive cryogenic systems.
Carbon Sink says that, to date, more than 220 methanol-capable vessels are operating or under construction, representing an annual global demand exceeding 6 million metric tons of green methanol. It notes that, last November, it signed a letter of intent with global shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk to deliver 100,000 tonnes of green methanol annually from its debut plant. The plant is slated to commence production in 2027 and Maersk is expected to purchase the full volume of fuel produced, with options for future Carbon Sink facilities.
Maersk, of course, is the company that has done most to jump start the trend to green methanol fueling with its plans to build a fleet of vessels burning the fuel.
The first of those vessels has now been delivered and last month we reported that Amsterdam-headquartered OCI Global (Euronext: OCI) would be fueling its maiden voyage.
“The green methanol market is still in its infancy and frankly we had not expected to be able to secure a maiden voyage on green methanol for this vessel,” said Morten Bo Christiansen, head of energy transition at A.P. Moller – Maersk. “So, we are very proud to have achieved this significant milestone. We expect a diverse green fuel mix for the future, with green bio-methanol from biomass waste being available now.”
MILESTONE BUNKERING IN ULSAN
In a sign of the green methanol; supply chain in action, on July 16, Maesk’s first-of-its kind 2,100 TEU newbuild was bunkered in Ulsan with 1,000 tonnes of the OCI Global bio-methanol by Odfjell Terminals Korea (OTK).
“We congratulate Maersk on this important milestone and are proud to be the first terminal to successfully supply green methanol bunkering to this unique vessel,” said OTK’s chief commercial officer, Joseph Kim. “Over the past months, business reviews and technical efforts have been conducted on safe and successful methanol bunker supply models. We expect these results to be the cornerstone of the methanol bunkering business moving forward.”
The vessel is the first of 19 methanol dual-fuel engined ships ordered by Maersk. The operational experiences on its 21,500 kilometer voyage from South Korea to Denmark – more than halfway around the globe – will be followed with global interest.
“Maersk is excited to collaborate with Ulsan Port on the maiden voyage of the world’s first container vessel sailing on green methanol. This journey is an important step in our efforts to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, as it will allow us to gain the necessary operational experience with the new engines and fuel ahead of the arrival of our larger methanol-enabled vessels in the coming years,” said Maersk’s Christiansen.
