NTPC Green Energy Ltd, a subsidiary of India’s largest power generation utility is in talks with global shipping major A.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S to sell green methanol for its ships, said two people in the know of the developments.
This comes in the backdrop of tightening of marine fuel standards globally including the European Union’s Fuel Maritime Regulation that calls for a 2% reduction in greenhouse gas intensity by 2025 and an 80% reduction by 2050. Green methanol is created by combining green hydrogen with captured carbon dioxide.
“Talks have been underway for sometime now with some potential off-takers. Maersk is key among them. Discussions are in the initial stage and yet to be finalized,” said one of the two people mentioned above.
Discussions in nascent stage
In response to the query from Mint, a Maersk spokesperson confirmed on the talks and said that discussions are in the nascent stage.
“India’s strategic location with proximity to major shipping routes, unique agrarian profile offering abundant biomass resources, vast solar and wind resources, ambition targets, policy framework and investment in the production of technologies for renewable energy, green hydrogen and biofuels drive an overall conducive environment for the country to be a sourcing destination for low emission fuels,” said the company spokesperson.
In a mailed response, the spokesperson noted that Maersk has ordered several dual-fuel vessels that can run on bio- or e-methanol or liquified gas such as biomethane.
“On this background, Maersk is in talks with several energy producers who are in a position to supply methanol, NTPC being one of them, for its growing fleet of dual-fuel vessels that can run on methanol. At the moment, the discussions are at a very nascent stage as we explore all opportunities,” the spokesperson added.
Queries mailed to NGEL remained unanswered till press time.
NTPC to produce green molecules
The green energy arm of NTPC plans to produce a host of green molecules including green methanol, green ammonia and green urea apart from green hydrogen at the proposed hub. The planned hub in Andhra Pradesh is expected to export 2 million metric tonne of green methanol annually, according to NTPC’s annual report for the last fiscal (FY24).
In its bid to reduce carbon footprint, NTPC, the parent company is working on pilot projects that aim to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from a thermal plant and convert it into valuable products like methanol, ethanol, carbonated coarse aggregates, among others. It is setting up a 10-tonne-per-day ‘CO2-to-methanol’ demo plant in the NTPC – Vindhyachal thermal power plant. It aims for an indigenous development of catalyst and reactor for conversion of CO2 to methanol, said the annual report.
In its report titled “Green Hydrogen – Path To Decarbonization’, The Energy Resources Institute (TERI) noted that globally the use of green hydrogen directly or through green methanol or green ammonia for shipping is being tried out and India could do the same on a modest scale to begin with. According to the report released last month green methanol, green ammonia, and green hydrogen are considered sustainable green fuel options in the shipping industry.
For long haul
Noting that long distance ships need fuels with higher energy density, it said: “Green ammonia and green methanol are options as they can provide the required energy for long routes.” For shorter distances, electric propulsion and biogas can be used.
According to Methanol Institute, a global trade association for the methanol industry, compared with conventional fuels, renewable or green methanol cuts carbon dioxide emissions by up to 95%, reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 80%, and completely eliminates sulfur oxide and particulate matter emissions.
