Hapag-Lloyd to decarbonise fleet with green methanol

Hapag-Lloyd, a liner shipping company with a fleet of 292 modern container vessels, has reached an agreement with Goldwind, a global strategic partner in clean energy, for the delivery of green methanol

Consisting of a blend of bio- and e-methanol, 250,000 tonnes of the fuel will be supplied to Hapag-Lloyd every year which will be used to power specialist ships in its fleet including five 10,100 TEU charter ships that the company and Seaspan are converting to a suitable methanol dual-fuel propulsion system in 2026. The logistics company has also made a decision to invest in 24 new container ships with low-emission dual-fuel liquefied natural gas engines.

“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,” remarked Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd AG. “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.”

The green methanol supplied by Golwind will reportedly ensure a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction of at least 70% and will help Hapa-Lloyd to reduce the absolute emissions of its fleet by around one third compared to 2022. This will translate to a total save of up to 400,000 tonnes of CO2e emissions in fleet operations per year.

On the path to carbon neutrality

“We are honored to have reached this agreement with Hapag-Lloyd,” remarked Wu Gang, chairman of Goldwind. “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 decarbonization 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.”

To help support the order, Goldwind is planning to build a new green methanol factory adjacent to its existing project in Hinggan League, China. Liu Rixin, head of Goldwind Green Methanol, explained, “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.”

Jan Christensen, senior director global fuel purchasing, concluded, “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.”