Hapag-Lloyd turns to China to secure green methanol for its ships

November 28, 2024, by Naida Hakirevic Prevljak

German shipping major Hapag-Lloyd has reached an agreement with Goldwind, a China-based clean energy and wind turbine manufacturing company, for the delivery of 250,000 tonnes of green methanol per year.

As informed, the green methanol will consist of a blend of bio- and e-methanol, ensuring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction of at least 70%, and comply with all current sustainability certification requirements.

“As part of our Strategy 2030, we are fully committed to the 1.5-degree target of the Paris Agreement and therefore also to sustainable investments. With the agreement, we are securing a significant proportion of our requirements for green fuels. This will bring us an important step closer to our goal of achieving net-zero fleet operations by 2045. It is and remains our ambition to play a leading role in the transformation of the liner shipping industry,” Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd AG, pointed out.

By 2030, Hapag-Lloyd—which has a fleet of 292 containerships— aims to reduce the absolute GHG emissions of the fleet by around one-third compared to 2022. Compared to conventional fuels, the ordered quantity of green methanol can save a total of up to 400,000 tonnes of CO2e emissions in fleet operations per year.

Goldwind is planning to build a new green methanol factory adjacent to its existing project in Hinggan League, China. Meanwhile, Goldwind will additionally deliver early volume scheduled in 2026.

“We are honored to have reached this agreement with Hapag-Lloyd. This collaboration proves once again that Goldwind can win the trust of one of the most important shipping companies. We are grateful for the opportunity to become a strong decarbonization partner of Hapag-Lloyd, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality ahead of the shipping-industry targets and aligns closely with Goldwind’s corporate vision. Goldwind highly values this endorsement and looks forward to deepening the collaboration,” Wu Gang, Chairman of Goldwind, commented.

“The planned new factory will share technology, utilities, facilities and infrastructures with its neighbouring sister plant, boosting production efficiency. It is still subject to the financial investment decision of the Goldwind Board. We anticipate the completion of a megaton green methanol base in Hinggan League in late 2027,” Liu Rixin, Head of Goldwind Green Methanol, added.

“Green methanol represents a key pathway within Hapag-Lloyd’s multi-fuel strategy, underscoring our commitment to advancing more sustainable shipping solutions. This initiative is made possible through strong partnerships, and we greatly value our collaboration with Goldwind, whose expertise and shared vision are helping us make important progress toward decarbonization,” Jan Christensen, Senior Director of Global Fuel Purchasing, said.

In April this year, Hapag-Lloyd and Hong Kong-based containership owner Seaspan Corporation entered into a methanol retrofit and conversion agreement encompassing five 10,100 TEU ships chartered by the German carrier. The five charter ships the duo is converting to a suitable methanol dual-fuel propulsion system in 2026 will be powered by green methanol.

In addition to the recent investment decision for 24 new container ships with low-emission dual-fuel liquefied natural gas engines announced earlier this month, the investment in green methanol is another step in Hapag-Lloyd’s efforts to prepare itself for a multi-fuel future and to drive the decarbonization of the liner shipping industry.