Methanol

Unifeeder inks time-charter deal for up to four methanol powered vessels

Unifeeder Group plans to deploy the new vessels on its European network, where the new vessels will give a significant contribution to lower the emissions of the network.

Published

2 months ago

October 5, 2023

Admin

International logistics company Unifeeder Group on Tuesday (3 October) said it has signed a long-term time-charter agreement for two new methanol-capable container feeder vessels and has an option for additional two similar vessels.

German-based ship owning group Elbdeich Reederei will build and manage the 1250 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessels which will be delivered in 2026.

Unifeeder Group plans to deploy the new vessels on its European network, where the new vessels will give a significant contribution to lower the emissions of the network.

Alongside parent company, DP World, Unifeeder is working with partners across the industry to find solutions to the challenge of renewable-methanol supply, which needs off-take commitments to build production at the scale that the industry needs to replace conventional fossil fuels.

In parallel to the delivery of the methanol capable vessels, Unifeeder will continue to improve the fuel efficiency of the entire fleet deployed and increase the use of biofuels on the conventional vessels in the fleet.

Jesper Kristensen, Group CEO of Unifeeder Group, said: “This is another significant step towards the green transformation of our fleet and our operations. These new vessels can be deployed across our current and future networks, offering a flexible, greener solution to our customers.

“As the number of methanol-capable vessels increases in both our operations and those of our customers, my hope is that this drives an increase in innovation and production amongst methanol producers. This will then complete a virtuous circle and ensure we can operate more and more methanol capable vessels with the right colour of methanol fuels in our networks.

“Ultimately though, the greenest fuel is the fuel that is not burned. We strive to offer our customers solutions that support their own sustainability journeys and whilst these new vessels are part of the answer, efficient routing, securing high levels of vessel utilisation and dedicated capacity management across all of our offerings have major roles to play as well.”

The investment in these new ships supports Unifeeder Group’s decarbonisation plan. Putting its targets well above that of the industry average, Unifeeder has committed to a 25% reduction of emissions by 2030, carbon neutrality by 2040 and net zero emissions by 2050. It aims to achieve this by emphasising fuel-efficient practices, regular maintenance and refitting processes of the existing fleet and fostering a culture of learning and collaboration, sharing best practices across markets to drive effective carbon reduction strategies.

Robert Frese, Managing Director at Elbdeich Reederei, said: “We believe in methanol-capable vessels as part of a suite of solutions being deployed to reduce carbon emissions in our sector and are happy to contribute with this project to a greener future in shipping. We really look forward to operating these modern state-of-the-art container feeder vessels in our partnership with Unifeeder and hope other market participants will follow this example.”

The newbuilding project is the latest step in a series of efforts that have been undertaken between Unifeeder and Elbdeich Reederei to reduce emissions within the jointly-operated Unifeeder fleet. This includes the first test of Synthetic Natural Gas as a fuel on a commercial vessel, the continuous use of biofuels and various vessel modifications made to reduce the fuel consumption of existing tonnage.

Photo credit: Unifeeder
Published: 5 October, 2023

Up Next

Egypt and A.P. Moller-owned C2X ink agreement for large scale green methanol production

Don't Miss

LR, Cargill and partners to develop methanol and rotor sail ready bulker design

Alternative Fuels

DNV paper outlines bunkering of alternative marine fuels for boxships

Third edition of its paper series focuses on LNG, methanol and ammonia as alternative bunker fuel options for containerships; explores bunkering aspects for LNG and methanol.

Published

2 days ago

November 29, 2023

Admin

DNV paper outlines bunkering of alternative marine fuels for boxships

Classification society DNV recently released the third edition of its paper series Alternative fuels for containerships, focused on LNG, methanol and ammonia as alternative bunker fuel options for containerships.

In its updated paper series, DNV examined the different alternative marine fuel options and provided an overview of the most important technical and commercial considerations for the containership sector.

It explored the bunkering technology for LNG, bunkering infrastructure for methanol, and availability and infrastructure of ammonia.

Building on the foundation laid in the second edition, which focused on the most important aspects of methanol as a fuel, this latest third edition delves deeper – exploring the technical intricacies and commercial considerations associated with adopting methanol as an alternative fuel for containerships.

Furthermore, it provides an overview of crucial aspects related to ammonia and discusses its potential as an alternative fuel for containerships.

Amongst others, the new edition of the paper looks at the following aspects:

Technical design considerations for methanol
Commercial implications of adopting methanol as an alternative fuel
Ammonia's potential as an alternative fuel
Availability, infrastructure and ship fuel technology for ammonia
Major updates based on the latest IMO GHG strategy decisions at the MEPC 80 meeting

Note: The third edition of DNV’s full paper titled Alternative Fuels for Containerships can be found here.

Photo credit: DNV
Published: 29 November, 2023

Engine

MAN ES announces MAN 175D methanol dual-fuel engine will be available by 2026

Dual-fuel version of MAN 175D high-speed engine, capable of operating on methanol, will be available by the end of 2026; will be available both as newbuild and retrofit variants.

Published

3 days ago

November 28, 2023

Admin

MAN ES announces MAN 175D methanol dual-fuel engine will be available by 2026

MAN Energy Solutions on Monday (27 November) announced that a dual-fuel version of its MAN 175D high-speed engine, capable of operating on methanol, will be available by the end of 2026.

The new variant, designated MAN 175DF-M, will be available both as newbuild and retrofit variants.

MAN Energy Solutions states that the 175DF-M will be optimised for diesel-mechanical and diesel-electric propulsion to achieve the largest methanol share and best efficiency for various applications and load profiles. In fact, the engine has already been awarded the ‘fuel ready’ certificate by DNV, guaranteeing the introduction of this dual-fuel methanol technology.

“The 175D engine is MAN Energy Solutions’ latest addition to the high-speed maritime sector and is, as such, one of the pillars of its efforts to develop a methanol-ready engine portfolio as the demand for such technology has rapidly been increasing of late,” the firm said in a statement.

With its success in achieving series-approval for its two-stroke engines, MAN Energy Solutions said it has used this experience to develop an optimised solution for its four-stroke engines, including successful single-cylinder testing. As such, the results of these efforts will fuel the upcoming development and validation of the dual-fuel PFI (Port Fuel Injection) technology for its methanol-ready 175D engine.

Florian Keiler, Head of High Speed, MAN Energy Solutions, said: “The MAN 175D has proven to be very competitive in terms of sustainability and efficiency with the lowest fuel consumption, lowest lube-oil consumption and longest overhaul times in its class, minimising its environmental footprint. In terms of future fuels, the next logical step, apart from being able to run on 100% bio-fuels, is to ensure methanol combustion.”

“Based on numerous exchanges with customers, we came to the conclusion that the dual-fuel principle, reliability, efficiency, a high methanol share, competitive life-cycle costs and maximum achievable output were key requirements for the 175DF-M’s development. Therefore, after conscientious investigation and consideration, we settled upon the PFI combustion technology as the most favourable. Fundamental combustion development will start in 2024, leading up to a first field-test of the methanol engine in 2026. The MAN 175DF-M engine will subsequently be ready for sales release at the end of 2026.”

MAN Energy Solutions believes that PFI is the most advanced technology currently available. Its development targets a highest methanol share over a wide power range while achieving the highest cylinder output in its high-speed engine class. In particular, optimisation for diesel-electric multi-engine plants will allow operation of the engines at an optimal load point achieving the highest methanol share. As result, when using biofuels, the MAN 175DF-M’s carbon footprint will be reduced to zero while retaining full fuel-flexibility for operation anywhere in the world.

Photo credit: MAN Energy Solutions
Published: 28 November, 2023

Methanol

Maersk and China-based Goldwind sign landmark green methanol bunker fuel offtake deal

Long-term agreement for annual volumes of 500KT will enable low carbon operations for the first 12 large methanol-enabled Maersk vessels on order; first volumes expected in 2026.

Published

1 week ago

November 23, 2023

Admin

Maersk and China-based Goldwind sign landmark green methanol bunker fuel offtake deal

A.P. Moller - Maersk on Wednesday (22 November) said it signed a deal with Chinese clean energy firm Goldwind, marking the first large scale green methanol offtake agreement for the global shipping industry.

The commercially viable long-term offtake agreement for annual volumes of 500KT will enable low carbon operations for the first 12 large methanol-enabled Maersk vessels on order. The first volumes are expected in 2026.

Rabab Raafat Boulos, Chief Infrastructure Officer at A.P. Moller - Maersk, said: “This deal is a milestone for Maersk as it enables us to significantly reduce our emissions footprint in this decade and stay aligned with the 1.5-degree Celsius trajectory as set out in the Paris Agreement, ensuring continued supply of low carbon shipping services to our customers in the second half of this decade.”

“We are encouraged by the agreement because its scale and price confirm our view that green methanol currently is the most viable low-emission solution for ocean shipping that can make a significant impact in this decade. The deal is a testament to the momentum and vast efforts we see among ambitious developers driving projects forward across geographies, however, we still have a long way to go in ensuring a global green fuels market that can enable the decarbonisation of global shipping.”

A.P. Moller - Maersk aims to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 across its business. The deal significantly de-risks the initial stages of Maersk’s net-zero journey and supports expectations for a competitive green methanol market towards 2030. The record-high volumes can annually propel more than half the methanol-enabled capacity Maersk currently has on order.

Wu Gang, Chairman, Goldwind, said: “Goldwind respects Maersk as a pioneer in the field of maritime green fuel and we are excited to jointly promote the green transition with Maersk.”

“With this project, Goldwind will continue to explore the innovative application of new technologies, pursue the organic combination of green electricity and green fuel production, and optimise the production process of green methanol.”

“Goldwind is committed to collaborating with companies involved in the green methanol industry, with the aim to make green methanol one of the most important and economically feasible clean maritime fuels in the future.”

The volumes combine a mix of green bio-methanol and e-methanol, all produced utilising wind energy at a new production facility in Hinggan League, Northeast China, around 1,000km northeast of Beijing.

Production is expected to begin in 2026. Following this signed offtake agreement, Goldwind expects to confirm a final investment decision for the facility by the end of the year.

Maersk will take delivery of its first large ocean-going methanol-enabled vessel (16,000 TEU) in the first quarter of 2024 and is working on sourcing solutions with a broad range of global partners for the entire vessel series being delivered in 2024 to 2025.

Photo credit: A.P. Moller - Maersk
Published: 23 November, 2023