Ferry operators Stena Line and DFDS and energy companies Ørsted and Liquid Wind have partnered up with the Swedish Port of Gothenburg to establish an electromethanol (e-fuels) hub.
As the largest port in Scandinavia, Gothenburg is said to be the ideal choice for the first delivery and bunkering point for green e-fuels .
With the intent to launch in 2025, this pioneering venture is a tangible step towards a carbon-neutral shipping industry , according to project partners.
Stena Line and DFDS are partnering with FlagshipONE which is jointly owned by Ørsted and Liquid Wind, a developer of eMethanol projects in Europe.
FlagshipONE, which is in late-stage development and approaching a final investment decision, will be the largest e-fuels facility in the world, producing 50,000 tonnes of eMethanol annually.
This collaboration is supported by the Port of Gothenburg, the first shipping port to actively pursue a green fuels policy ensuring carbon neutral operations by 2030.
The five companies will now work together to launch the first renewable, ‘Made in Sweden’ marine fuel , to encourage more companies to choose carbon neutral e-fuels.
The commitment to e-fuels made by the shipping companies is proof of their ambition to catalyse the transition to carbon neutral shipping, the parties said.
“Stena Line has the ambition to achieve a climate neutral operation . This partnership is yet another proof point of our dedication to reduce our carbon footprint. We cannot achieve this on our own – a strategic collaboration across the value chain will be a win-win for all stakeholders in this exciting project,” Niclas Mårtensson , CEO of Stena Line, commented.
“With eMethanol from this partnership, DFDS is adding a new e-fuel possibility to deliver on our promise to operate a green vessel latest by 2025,” Torben Carlsen , CEO of DFDS, said.
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“Ørsted is excited about the opportunity to support the Port of Gothenburg, DFDS and Stena Line in their ambition to decarbonise their marine operations by using green e-fuel to be produced at FlagshipONE in Sweden,” Olivia Breese , Senior Vice President, Ørsted P2X, noted.
“The Port of Gothenburg has set out to reduce CO2-emissions by 70% within the port area by 2030. This is an extremely important goal for us, but something we cannot achieve on our own. Therefore, we are delighted to have a supplier like Liquid Wind and committed ship owners like Stena Line and DFDS taking these ambitious steps that will make a huge difference towards achieving that goal,” Elvir Dzanic , CEO of the Port of Gothenburg, pointed out.
Green e-fuels
Green e-fuels are on track to replace fossil fuels for maritime propulsion for true decarbonisation in the hard-to-abate shipping sector.
According to the Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, eMethanol offers a number of advantages as marine fuel. It has more manageable handling requirements than other e-fuels and eMethanol engines are already commercially available.
Despite clean, renewable sources of energy being a critically important component of global shipping’s decarbonisation efforts, the center estimates that we’ll need additional support from other levers to fully realise the maritime industry’s zero-carbon ambitions.
Green electrofuel, eMethanol, is made from 100% biogenic sources combined with 100% renewable wind energy. It doesn’t add CO2 to the atmosphere. And it’s designed to help the world significantly reduce its carbon footprint.