In a bid to help source suitable quantities of fuel for its landmark new ships, A.P. Moller – Maersk, via its corporate venture arm Maersk Growth, has invested in California-based WasteFuel, a start-up focused on turning waste into sustainable aviation fuel, green bio-methanol, and renewable natural gas.
The news comes in the wake of Maersk ordering a series of 16,000 teu methanol duel fuelled ships plus a smaller 2,100 similarly fuelled ship this year – groundbreaking orders for the container sector.
Last month, Maersk also fixed an e-methanol sourcing agreement in Denmark.
WasteFuel has set out to develop biorefineries that produce sustainable fuels from unrecoverable waste that would otherwise degrade, and release methane and other harmful emissions into the atmosphere. WasteFuel is also developing projects in Asia and the Americas including a biorefinery in Manila in the Philippines, to produce low-carbon fuels. The company has also announced an offtake agreement with NetJets – the world’s largest private jet company owned by Berkshire Hathaway.
“Maersk is confident that green bio-methanol is one of the promising fuels of the future as it can be scaled up and play an important role in decarbonising supply chains within the next 10-15 years,” the Danish shipping giant stated in a release.
