A.P. Moller Plans to Turn a Hard-to-Find Green Bunker Fuel Into Plastic

A.P. Moller, best known for owning Maersk, has been investing a lot to create a green methanol supply chain. This is important because green methanol can help ships run on cleaner fuel. The shipping industry needs to cut down on pollution, and Maersk is working hard to stay ahead as rules about clean fuel become stricter. Green methanol is hard to find, but A.P. Moller’s energy projects make it possible for Maersk to use this low-carbon fuel, giving them an advantage over others.

Now, A.P. Moller is taking a new step by planning to turn this green methanol into plastic. On Monday, a new company owned by A.P. Moller announced that it would build a big plant in Antwerp, Belgium. This plant will use green methanol to make plastics like polypropylene and polyethylene, which are often used for packaging, plastic bags, and bottles. These plastics will be just like regular plastics but made from renewable sources.

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The new company, called Vioneo, has designed this plant to run on renewable energy, which means it won’t create any CO2 emissions during production. Vioneo says this will save about six kilos of CO2 for every kilo of plastic they make. They also believe their method will be one of the cheapest ways to reduce carbon emissions. The name “Vioneo” comes from Latin words meaning “journey” and “new.” The company hopes their project will help improve Europe’s chemicals industry and make Europe a leader in creating plastic without using fossil fuels.

Vioneo plans to start making plastic with green methanol in 2028, which is two years before the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) goal for using five percent clean bunker fuel.

Jan T. Nielsen, the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of A.P. Moller, said that A.P. Moller Holding is committed to reducing carbon emissions by making more green methanol and using it in different industries. He said that launching Vioneo is an important step towards reaching that goal.

In August, A.P. Moller’s shipping company, Maersk, announced they plan to order up to 60 new ships that can run on two types of fuel. For the first time, some of these ships will be able to use liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is another type of fuel. Until this announcement, Maersk had only been interested in using green methanol, and its leaders had previously said they didn’t want to use LNG because it’s still a fossil fuel.