The world’s second-largest container shipping line is looking at boosting the use of ethanol as a green fuel for its vessels, which could reduce its dependence on China and soften Donald Trump’s resistance to decarbonisation.
China dominates the market for clean energy fuels such as “green” methanol, and Denmark’s AP Møller-Maersk wants to use more ethanol — of which the US and Brazil are the top two producers — to diversify supplies, said Vincent Clerc, chief executive.
“If all the upside is only in China, then some countries will object,” Clerc told the Financial Times. “But if the upside is more evenly distributed, then more countries will support it . . . It will make the green transition something that more countries can see an upside to.”