Maersk offers customers carbon-neutral transportation

Maersk is testing a new fuel that provides its customers with carbon-neutral transportation. This is because the company is committed to providing increasingly sustainable solutions.

Maersk will soon offer customers carbon-neutral transport. A new biofuel-blend product – first of its kind in the industry – is being released with select Maersk customers like @hm Group and validated in a trial with the @DSGCoalition and @Shell this year. https://t.co/EJbGaypTxQ pic.twitter.com/UGWe1Rz4gY

— Maersk (@Maersk) 20 June 2019

Some customers were selected for the test. The first company to use it will be the H&M Group, a Swedish clothing giant that aims to be environmentally friendly by 2040. The pilot project will use a biofuel that is the same blend of cooking oil tested and validated this year by the Dutch Coalition for Sustainable Growth (DSGC) and Shell.

Pilot test

In March, a group of Dutch multinationals (FrieslandCampina, Heineken, Philips, DSM, Shell, and Unilever) members of the DSGC joined forces with Maersk to undertake a biofuel-driven journey from Europe to China.

The pilot test, using up to 20% second-generation sustainable biofuels on the Mette Maersk mega-ship, traversed the 25,000 nautical miles round trip between Rotterdam and Shanghai with only biofuel blends. This operation saved 1.5m kg of CO2 and 20,000 kg of sulfur.

“The biofuel test on board Mette Maersk has proven that decarbonized solutions for transport can now be used both technically and operationally. Although not yet an absolutely definitive solution, it is certainly part of the solution and can serve as a transition to reduce CO2 emissions. With the launch of this product, Maersk seeks to assist our customers in migrating to sustainable supply chains,” said Maersk’s COO Søren Toft.

Considering the whole cycle of fuel production and transport, the use of Maersk’s biofuel makes it possible to reduce emissions by 85% compared to conventional fuel.  Maersk promised at the end of last year to decarbonize its activities by 2050.

Maritime transport remains the most carbon-efficient global means of transport but represents 2-3% of global emissions. This number will continue to grow unless it is controlled by industry leaders and public policy.

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