Hapag-Lloyd has reached an agreement with Chinese company Goldwind, a global strategic partner in clean energy, for the delivery of 250,000t of green methanol per year.
The green methanol will consist of a blend of bio- and e-methanol, ensuring GHG emissions reduction of at least 70%, and comply with all current sustainability certification requirements.
Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO Hapag-Lloyd said: “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.”
By 2030, Hapag-Lloyd 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 400,000t 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.
Goldwind Chairman Wu Gang said: “We are honoured 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 decarbonisation 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.”
Liu Rixin, Head of Goldwind Green Methanol added: “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.”
Hapag-Lloyd Senior Director Global Fuel Purchasing Jan Christensen said: “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 decarbonisation.”
The five 10,100 TEU charter ships that Hapag-Lloyd and Seaspan are 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 in November 2024, 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 decarbonisation of the liner shipping industry.
Image: Hapag-Lloyd/Goldwind green methanol agreement (source: Hapag-Lloyd)
