Maersk expects that the issues arising around the safety of ammonia and fuel types based on alcohols will be resolved in two to three years, making possible the order of ships that will run on these fuels, the company’s CEO Søren Skou stated.
Specifically, Mr. Skou explained in a podcast hosted by Global Optimism that the key driving force for decarbonization comes from the market because customers are demanding that the suppliers make their supply chains greener and more sustainable.
The company reported that its two strategic targets on CO2 emissions are to have net-zero CO2 emissions from its own operations by 2050, and to also deliver a 60% relative reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030 compared to 2008 levels.
To meet its green goals, the company has to have zero-emission vessels in its fleet by 2030, less than a decade to develop new marine fuel technologies and infrastructure.
Mr. Skou added that the majority of Maersk’s investments in the following years will be provided for the development of new fuels, zooming in on three potential fuel types based on alcohols (methanol and ethanol), bio-methane, and ammonia.
He commented that “a ship has a life expectancy of somewhere between 20 and 25 years, so we need to start replacing ships in 2030 in order to be ready by 2050.” He, later on, explained that the use of alternative fuels needs hard work in efforts to define the fuel they want to use and also help create a market.
He stated that Maersk has identified several fuels they could focus on, such as ammonia and alcohols, since both fuels can both be produced with a starting source of green energy.
Despite the vision and the research on alternative fuels, Mr. Skou explained that this could be a viable option in two or three years. ” It will still be a combustion engine as we know it today, which is good because it means there’s a chance we can even retrofit existing ships with new pistons and so on”, Mr. Skou stressed.
