The Maersk Murcia container is hidden in the port of Gothenburg, Sweden, on August 24, 2020.
JONATHAN NACKSTRAND | AFP | Getty Images
Maritime giant Maersk said on Wednesday it would launch a carbon-free ship in 2023, seven years ahead of schedule, as it seeks to reduce its environmental footprint and reach a net carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions target by 2050. .
According to the Danish firm, the world’s largest container shipping company, the ship will run on carbon-neutral e-methanol or sustainable bio-methanol, although it will still be able to run on very low sulfur standard fuel) if necessary.
In simple terms, “carbon neutral” means that CO2 emissions are offset by an equal amount of CO2 removal. If something is negative for carbon, it means that more CO2 is removed from the atmosphere than emitted.
Looking to the future, all new Maersk-owned ships will be able to run on carbon-neutral fuels, and the company says it will “install dual-fuel engines in future new construction.” The word “new construction” refers to a ship that has recently been built or is under construction.
The environmental footprint of shipping is significant. According to the International Energy Agency, in 2019 international maritime transport (a crucial gear in the global economy) was responsible for approximately 2% of “global energy-related CO2 emissions”.
Speaking to CNBC’s “Street Signs Europe” on Wednesday morning, Maersk’s decarbonization chief explained that several things had “gone in the right direction” in accelerating the development of the methanol-powered ship.
“We’ve learned a lot as a company about the opportunities that exist, the technology has developed,” Morten Bo Christiansen said.
“And last but not least, our customers clearly expect this from us. They need us to help them decarbonize their supply chains.”
Asked how his company would get enough carbon-neutral fuels to meet its future needs, Christiansen said it was an “egg and chicken situation.”
“There are a lot of projects on the drawing board, but there aren’t a lot of volunteers,” he said. “With that, we try to state that we want to roll this ball, that we want to start producing these fuels and put them on the market so that the market can scale.”
Maersk, he explained, was in dialogue with several partners on the issue, although he was not yet ready to name who he was dealing with.
“But definitely … this will be the big challenge: getting sufficient supplies of carbon-neutral neutral fuels,” he added.
Christiansen stated that Maersk customers “would have access to a product that represents a concept that is properly scalable.”
“It also means they’ll have an idea of the additional cost this will add,” he said.
Noting that while the company was still unsure about price points, Christiansen added, “What we do know is that when we look at end-consumer products, that is, a pair of sneakers or a flat screen TV, then … the impact on these products would be measured in cents instead of dollars. “
“So from that perspective, it would seem like something that can really be absorbed and hopefully it can escalate the decarbonization of our customers’ supply chains.”