COPENHAGEN: European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has named Maersk’s first methanol-powered container ship “Laura Maersk” at a ceremony in Copenhagen this week.

Called after the company’s first steamship in 1886, von der Leyen said the new vessel embodied Europe's decision to pioneer the fight against climate change. “We are turning a noble generational task into a new growth strategy,” she declared.

“When I took office four years ago, the idea of a net-zero shipping sector was nothing but a dream. Something was still missing to trigger big investments in climate-friendly technologies: You needed certainty about the direction of travel, a clear route so that you could set sail.”

In order to achieve this, the Commission in 2019 proposed its European Green Deal to produce the first climate-neutral economic bloc with a binding law for all 27 Member States.

The new legislation prompted Maersk to order 25 methanol-powered containerships in service by the end of the decade that will save an estimated 2.75 million tonnes of CO2 annually.

Von de Leyen noted ‘Laura’ was shaping the economy of the future: “This is a big deal, not only for Europe but for the whole world. What you have achieved needed vision and it needed leadership, and joining forces.

“We have all understood that we are in this transition together. The European Green Deal aligns political ambition and public investment with private investment and innovation. And this beautiful ship is a first fruit of this cooperation,” she continued.

Noting Maersk will be sourcing methanol from hydrogen energy solar-powered in Denmark, von de Leyen expects Europe to produce and import 20 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen annually by 2030.

“This year, for the first time, we generated more electricity from wind and sun than from gas. With abundant and affordable renewables, there will of course be more investment into alternative fuels like green hydrogen, ammonia and methanol.”

With up to 90 percent of world trade by volume carried by sea, von de Leyen said the process of successfully decarbonising shipping would lead to new supply chains, new industries and new jobs.

“Because we are marrying ecological responsibility with economic opportunity, it will empower more pioneers to follow [Maersk's] example and sustainably sail the high seas. And it could create not only global revenues for domestic innovation but also support developing economies and emerging markets in innovating and in coping with the fallout of climate change,” she added.