Denmark has announced its Green Fuels Alliance India (GFAI) initiative in a bid to boost collaborative efforts between the two countries in the sustainable energy solutions sector and advance their joint global goal towards carbon neutrality, according to A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) on Monday (8 January). 

A.P. Moller – Maersk, one of the founding members of the Green Fuels Alliance India, will take a seat on the steering committee as one of the representatives of the maritime industry for the conversations around green fuels.

Led by the Danish Embassy and the Consulate General of Denmark in India, the new alliance is a strategic initiative poised to play a pivotal role in advancing the Green Fuels sector, including Green Hydrogen, by fostering innovation, collaboration, and partnerships between Danish industries and their counterparts in India.

GFAI’s primary objective is to promote sustainable energy growth in India by establishing an ecosystem that encourages collaboration among businesses, government entities, research institutions, and financial stakeholders from both the Indian and Danish sectors.

Nine pioneering Danish organisations have already committed to the GFAI initiative as founding members including Maersk, Topsoe, Umwelt Energy, Mash Makes, European Sustainable Solutions, Novozymes, Danfoss, Brdr. Christensen and Hydrogen Denmark. Meanwhile, the GFAI advisory board members include India Hydrogen Alliance, Energy Consortium at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, the Danish Energy Agency and State of Green.

The GFAI announcement comes at an opportune moment in history as India massively pushes towards achieving carbon neutrality by 2070. Meanwhile, Denmark has topped the global Climate Performance Ranking 2024 and is also on the path to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

The GFAI is demonstrative of activities under the Green Strategic Partnership (GSP) signed in 2020 between India and Denmark that seek to meet the partner countries’ ambitious climate targets.

Ambassador of Denmark to India, H.E. Freddy Svane, is hopeful that such an international collaboration has the potential to greatly aid the global green transition. “Our planet needs action. The Tamil Nadu investors summit is happening at this very important junction. Danish companies bring skills to the green transition globally. Happy to see the special efforts through the Green Strategic Partnership to inspire India in her endeavours of greening its development. The Green Fuels Alliance India is powering initiatives within the energy transition. May our joint contributions be significant and inspirational,” he said.

Key features of the GFAI include:

• featuring a Steering Committee comprised of Danish businesses and coordinated by the Secretariat at the Danish Consulate in Bangalore.
• Advisory Board comprising industry experts and thought leaders that will ensure the initiatives remain innovative and aligned with industry trends.
• Inspired by Collaborative Initiatives such as the India-Denmark Energy Partnership, the Nation Green Hydrogen Mission, and joint R&D efforts on Green Fuels, including Green Hydrogen

Morten Bo Christiansen, Head of Energy Transition, Maersk, said: “The availability of green energy and green fuel in sufficient quantities at cost-competitive price levels is the single largest challenge to the global shipping’s net-zero journey. India has excellent conditions for renewable energy production and ambitions to be a global leader in the green energy value chain. 

“Drawing on our more than 100 years of business relations with the nation, we are very excited to join the involved Indian and Danish stakeholders as a founding member of the Green Fuels Alliance India (GFAI).”

Maersk has set a Net-Zero greenhouse gas emissions target for 2040 across the entire business and has also set tangible and ambitious near-term targets for 2030 to ensure significant progress.

Maersk introduced the world’s first dual-fuel vessel that can run on green methanol bunker fuel in 2023, and the world’s largest vessel to run on green fuel, a 16,000-TEU (Twenty Feet Equivalent containers) vessel, will be added to service in February 2024. Maersk has secured sufficient green1 methanol to cover this vessel’s maiden voyage and continues to work diligently on 2024-25 sourcing solutions for its methanol-enabled vessel fleet. In addition to these two vessels, there are 23 more that have been ordered and will be added to the fleet as and when they are built.

Photo credit: A.P. Moller – Maersk
Published: 9 January, 2024