HAPAG-LLOYD has agreed a green methanol offtake deal with Chinese clean energy company Goldwind.

The Hamburg-based container line will take delivery of 250,000 tonnes of green methanol each year, with volumes expected to be delivered from 2026. The deal is for a mixture of bio- and e-methanol, Hapag-Lloyd said, and will save an estimated 400,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent every year.

Chief executive Rolf Habben Jensen said the deal meant his company was “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.”

Beijing-headquartered Goldwind is planning to build a new green methanol factory adjacent to an existing project in Hinggan League, Northern China.

Goldwind Green Methanol head Liu Rixin said 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.”

The green methanol involved in this deal will help to power five retrofitted boxships chartered from tonnage provider Seaspan. Work on the 10,000 teu vessels will begin in 2026, Lloyd’s List reported.

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