Maersk forms new green methanol subsidiary: Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk and its parent company AP Moller Holding (APMH) have established a new company that will produce and sell green methanol to the global shipping industry, according to statements released on Thursday by the new company (here) and Egypt’s General Authority for the Suez Canal Zone (SCZone) (here). The new firm — called C2X — aims to reach an annual production output of over 3 mn tons by 2030 by pursuing large-scale green methanol projects near the Suez Canal in Egypt and the port of Huelva in Spain, among several other planned locations, Bloomberg reported. C2X is majority owned by APMH, while its shipping arm Maersk holds a 20% stake, the companies said. The amount of capital raised by the new venture was not disclosed.

Expect more details next month: Maersk is expected to sign a framework agreement for the project with the SCZone, the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, the New and Renewable Energy Authority, and Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company at the start of October, the SCZone statement reads.

A big emissions cut: Maersk operates a fleet of 700 container ships that are responsible for around 0.1% of global CO2 emissions alone while the entire shipping industry is responsible for nearly 3% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, the newswire writes.

Demand for the fuel is expected to skyrocket: APMH estimates that global demand for methanol could triple to about 300 mn tons a year by 2050, with the majority being for its green type, Bloomberg reported. There is currently 153k tons of green methanol production capacity in operation globally, including synthetic methanol and pilot plants that may not be selling volumes commercially, BloombergNEF estimates show. Already some 100 ships with methanol burning engines have been ordered by shipping giants including Maersk, Cosco and CMA CGM. Read our recent explainer on green fuels for more.

Egypt will be an important piece of the puzzle: Maersk said it would cooperate with Egypt on a USD 15 bn project to produce clean fuel for ships back in September last year. Egypt’s SCZone is looking to expand the scope of its green methanol bunkering services in the near future and Scatec also signed an agreement in May to set up a green methanol plant in Damietta alongside several local firms at a cost of around USD 450 mn.

Maersk is interested in Jordan too: Last year, the Jordanian Energy Ministry yesterday signed an MoU with Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk to produce green methanol in Jordan using desalinated water and renewable energy.