Green methanol

Green methanol is one potential fuel type we are investigating. It can be made by combining sustainably produced hydrogen and CO2 captured from renewable sources.   

In some ways, it is easy to consider green methanol a potential fuel source. You can buy ship engines that run on methanol today, and methanol is by far the easiest of the future fuels produced from renewable energy to store onboard, as it does not need cooling or to be stored under pressure.  

The limited availability of sustainable carbon combined with the vast potential demand from the aviation and cement industries makes green methanol less financially attractive for shipping in the long term, as other the other industries will be able to pay more than us, but we are still investigating it. In the end, when decisions are to be made on which sustainable fuels to choose, methanol could be part of the energy mix throughout our operations, even if the ships themselves are not fuelled by it.  

• Methanol is easy to use; other shipping companies use black methanol (the sort where fossil-derived carbon is mixed into it) today.

• Even if it will not be our primary fuel, we can still use it for part of our operations.

• It burns easily and is toxic when untreated. 
• You need carbon to produce it, and this carbon must come from renewable sources for the fuel to be genuinely sustainable.  
• Likely to come in short supply compared to the huge future demand.
• Expected to become more expensive, as there is potentially more demand than supply.