Photo/Wen Qiao (NBD)

On June 28, NBD had an interview with Senji Tokumoto, chairman of MOL (China), at the 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions of the World Economic Forum (the "Summer Davos Forum"). Senji Tokumoto said that China has cost advantages in the production of green methanol, green ammonia and green hydrogen, and in the future, Mitsui can undertake export business of these green energy.

NBD: What do you expect from this year"s annual meeting of the Summer Davos? What do you think are the highlights of Davos?

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Senji Tokumoto: We are looking forward to having a free exchange with delegates from various countries to see what are the major trends in the global economy, which is the main purpose.

I think there are two highlights in this forum, one is environmental protection, and the other is technological reform, which we want to know more about.

NBD: Can you give us some details about the environmental protection and technological innovation that Mitsui focuses on?

Senji Tokumoto: Alternative fuel is a more critical issue for us. At present, we use heavy oil for transportation, and in the future, we will switch to renewable energy. Green methanol or green ammonia, which is the mainstream in the future? We don"t know that yet, so we"d like to hear what people around the world think about.

The shipping industry is a relatively big carbon dioxide emitter, and we are under great pressure from society. Our emissions in 2022 was 12.6 million tons, which is a very large amount, so we must take measures to reduce emissions. Our plan is to reduce emissions by 45% by 2035 and reach zero emissions by 2050.

We expect to start building ships fueled by methanol or liquid ammonia after 2030. A ship is expected to be used for 15 to 20 years, so we should not only look at the current policy, but also the future trend.

On the other hand, the maritime market is relatively volatile, so we want to develop more stable businesses, such as wind power, offshore power, liquefied natural gas reception and so on.

NBD: What role can China play in the energy conservation and emission reduction of merchant Marine Mitsui?

Senji Tokumoto: Last month I attended a conference on green ammonia, green hydrogen and green methanol in Ordos, Inner Mongolia. I have learned that China"s inland land area is large with less rain and long daytime, so photovoltaic power and wind power are relatively cheap, which in turn reduces the manufacturing cost of green ammonia, green hydrogen and green methanol. In the future, these energies will be shipped to the port. Whether it is exported or burned (as fuel), there will definitely be opportunities for US.

NBD: As a foreign shipping enterprise, what is the significance of Tianjin Port? What are the growth points of the Chinese market?

Senji Tokumoto: We currently operate about 800 ships, including containers, liquefied natural gas, chemicals, iron ore and other fleets. These ships all have a port of Tianjin, so Tianjin port is a very important port. The information we have learned is that the container terminal in Tianjin Port has achieved zero emissions, which is very remarkable, and we have learned a lot.

Merchant Marine Mitsui has developed rapidly in China in recent years. Our company has cooperated with COSCO Shipping in LNG transportation, so in recent years, we have launched a number of LNG vessels to transport LNG to China. This also contributes to China"s environmental protection, because China currently uses more coal, and liquefied natural gas is more environmentally friendly than coal.