Hapag-Lloyd and NCL win ZEMBA’s e-fuel tender
Hapag-Lloyd and North Sea Container Line (NCL) will deliver GHG emissions reductions to members of the Zero Emission Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA) via e-fuel-powered shipping from 2027.
IMAGE: Concept design of an ammonia-fuelled container ship, Yara Eyde. Yara Clean Ammonia
Under the arrangement, Hapag-Lloyd will deploy e-methanol on one of its trans-oceanic trade lanes and NCL will use green ammonia on a north European route.
“Both fuels will be made with low-carbon hydrogen produced with renewable energy and will deliver a carbon intensity reduction of at least 90% on a lifecycle basis relative to conventional high-emission fuel,” ZEMBA explained.
The two shipping companies are expected to collectively cut around 120,000 mt of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over a three-year period, beginning 2027, using these fuels, ZEMBA projected.
ZEMBA members, comprising 45 global retailers including Amazon, Nike, IKEA and Patagonia, will then pay a premium to receive the equivalent of these emissions reductions through a book-and-claim mechanism.
The coalition added that some members are considering extending their participation to a five-year period.
Hapag-Lloyd started bunkering liquefied biomethane as part of ZEMBA’s inaugural tender. It eventually plans to expand its alternative fuel mix to include methanol and ammonia, Arne Maibohm, director of decarbonisation at Hapag-Lloyd told ENGINE.
The German carrier has ordered eight methanol dual-fuel container ships for delivery between 2028 and 2029 and is retrofitting five existing vessels for methanol propulsion by 2026. It has also signed an offtake agreement with China’s Goldwind to secure 250,000 mt/year of green methanol – a blend of bio- and e-methanol – with fuel deliveries expected to begin in 2026.
“At a time when sourcing scalable e-fuels remains a major challenge for the entire industry, winning the second ZEMBA tender is a significant milestone for us,” Rolf Habben Jansen, chief executive of Hapag-Lloyd added.
NCL, meanwhile, is set to take delivery of its first ammonia dual-fuel vessel next year. NCL Oslofjord AS will operate the vessel and Yara Clean Ammonia will supply green and blue ammonia for bunkering.
The tender reflects growing demand from cargo owners to directly support the use of scalable zero- and near-zero-emission hydrogen-based fuels in container shipping, ZEMBA said.
It added that the book-and-claim system allows emissions reductions to be allocated across complex supply chains "irrespective of geographic availability constraints."
By Konica Bhatt
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