New Maersk-Backed Firm Plans 3 Million MT/Year of Methanol Production

Maersk's first methanol-fuelled boxship arrived in Copenhagen this week for its naming ceremony. Image Credit: Maersk

A new firm backed by AP Moller-Maersk and its parent company is planning to set up as much as three million mt/year of green methanol production capacity by the end of this decade.

C2X is a newly-founded company, majority-owned by AP Moller Holding and with a 20% stake owned by its subsidiary, Maersk, the firm said in an emailed statement on Thursday.

The company is planning to set up green methanol production to meet growing demand from multiple industries, and has a target of three million mt/year of capacity by 2030.

The company has hired Brian Davis, formerly chief commercial officer at Marathon Petroleum, as its CEO, and Alastair Maxwell, formerly chief financial officer at Signifier Medical Technologies, as its CFO.

"Our focus is on developing our own large-scale projects and selective investments into attractive developments where we can help deliver those projects through access to our capital, expertise and commercialization," Davis said in the statement.

"We are building on our founders' longstanding relations with authorities, customers, and suppliers around the world.

"The green methanol industry is nascent and new technologies are emerging, and we will work hard to drive down our production costs over time.

"However, there is a strong customer pull and regulatory support so we are confident that, together with our partners, we can deliver at scale."

Methanol is rapidly gaining in popularity as an alternative marine fuel, with orders of methanol-fuelled tonnage now coming in regularly from a variety of shipping segments. The main challenge for this market will be the scaling-up of green methanol supply in time to meet the needs of the new ships as they are delivered.

Maersk's first methanol-fuelled boxship arrived in Copenhagen this week for its naming ceremony.