Container line operator Maersk announced that it was investing in a green methanol production start-up on 14 September.

The new methanol production company, C2X, is targeting annual output of over 3 million tonnes of green methanol per year by 2030. According to a press release issued by Maersk’s parent company, A.P. Moller Holding (APMH), which will own 80% of the shares in the new company, C2X is planning to develop large-scale green methanol projects near the Suez Canal in Egypt and the port of Huelva in Spain.

The Motorship notes Egyptian government announced plans to incentivise the production of green hydrogen based fuels in its recent national hydrogen strategy, and the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone is understood to be keen to encourage green hydrogen producers to locate within the zone. The Motorship previously reported on a MoU agreement between the The General Authority for Suez Development Economic Zone and Maersk relating to potential green fuel production in the SCzone in 2022.

Vincent Clerc, ceo of Maersk, speaking at a press event in Copenhagen attended by The Motorship noted that around 60 members of staff from Maersk where transferring to work for the green methanol start up, but that they were employees with relevant skills for the project, rather than staff with traditional maritime expertise. He was also at pains to note that despite the investment in C2X, Maersk as a shipping company remained agnostic about the potential future fuel for the industry, but added that green methanol was the only alternative that was technologically ready at present.