Kent Kirk and Bendt Bendtsen are certainly not unknown names in Danish politics as conservative ministers and in business. They first met back in 1994, when Bendt Bendtsen was elected to the Danish Parliament, where Kent Kirk had already served for several years - here he managed to be Minister of Fisheries, among other things. This is what Nordhavn Power Solutions writes in a press release.
They quickly found each other in their parliamentary group, where they spent a lot of time together in the following years. They became friends with many visions in common.
- We complement each other well, and we both like to see things grow and become viable, says Kent Kirk.
In 1998, Kent Kirk left the Danish Parliament and then returned to the shipping company Esvagt, which he himself helped to start in 1981 together with the two local Esbjerg boys, Henning Kruse and Ole Andersen. Here he worked as deputy chairman in the following years, while Bendt Bendtsen continued at Christiansborg. In 2000, he became party chairman of the Conservative People's Party and in 2001 was appointed Minister of Economic Affairs and Business in Anders Fogh Rasmussen's government.
When Bendt Bendtsen stepped down as minister in 2008, Kent Kirk lured his old party colleague onto the board of directors at Esvagt, where their business adventure began.
First mover on wind ships
In business, it is crucial to know which way the wind is blowing, and wind in particular became the focus area for the two friends and board members at Esvagt. Kent Kirk and Bendt Bendtsen knew that wind turbines were the future, and they had to convince the rest of the board that the shipping company should enter that sector.
At that time, the three founders of Esvagt no longer had the majority, as Mærsk had become part of the ownership group. They had to give their approval before the company could move into the wind industry and order the two desired wind ships for 700 million DKK, which will help service offshore wind turbines.
- The board did not agree to the idea of a lower bid and thus earnings on the first wind ships. However, Kent and I were very adamant that it was the future of the company, and that is why we contacted the then chairman of Mærsk Michael Pram Rasmussen about Esvagt lowering its price to win the first tenders for the wind turbine ships, so that we could become the first mover, says Bendt Bendtsen and continues:
- Mærsk ended up approving the order, and we thus became the first mover in wind, as we were the first to receive two wind turbine ships, and that was the future for Esvagt.
The first part of Kent Kirk and Bendt Bendtsen's business adventure ended when the private equity fund 3i acquired Esvagt in 2015.
From wind to methanol
In 2016, Kent Kirk bought the company Nordhavn Power Solutions in Randers, where Bendt Bendtsen became part of the board. Here they both agreed that the company should be the first mover in the green transition.
- Our major green investment is methanol solutions for the Danish shipping and industry, and here we are again the first mover. There is no doubt that methanol will be part of the future. We have been following the area for a long time and are following it very closely, and we see methanol as the next link in the chain of fuels. In the same way that we helped drive Esvagt into the wind turbine adventure, Nordhavn Power Solutions is well placed to drive this green adventure,” says Bendt Bendtsen.
When Bendt Bendtsen was in the European Parliament, he worked a lot on renewable energy and green transition. He and Kent Kirk have no doubt that methanol will be the fuel source of the future.
- In the old days, people talked about ammonia, but it is difficult to work with. I don't see it as a means of propulsion in shipping. Electricity is a really great alternative, but if you have to drive a larger ship, it requires large batteries that you have to charge regularly, and that challenges the shipping companies even more, says Kent Kirk.
The company Nordhavn Power Solutions has an agency for methanol engines from Scania, where the technology and mechanics are very similar to a diesel engine. This means that it does not require further training for fitters and technicians. It will require major changes if they have to learn a completely new engine to know, which runs on hydrogen or ammonia.
- The unique thing about these methanol engines is that Scania is the only one in the world to have developed a special nozzle system, so that you can run on 100% methanol without having to have a mixed fuel. Scania is the only one in the world with this unique product, says Kent Kirk and elaborates:
- I think it will be a smooth transition from diesel to methanol. It is not something that can be done in a single day. However, we see that the time has come to seize the opportunity and push for green development, and here we can really make a difference.
One of the big questions of doubt is whether there will be enough methanol for everyone. Here Kent Kirk and Bendt Bendtsen can remove the doubt and reassure that methanol fuel is available. They are in dialogue with Proman, the world's leading producer of methanol, and Bunker One, distributor of the fuel, and they provide a guarantee that methanol will not be a shortage.
- We are in dialogue with Proman and Bunker One, and we can guarantee that methanol will not be in short supply in the future, says Kent Kirk.
Kent Kirk's old company Esvagt will already have the first methanol-powered wind vessel at sea at the end of 2024, and the engine has been supplied by Nordhavn Power Solutions. In addition to Esvagt, other major players, including Mærsk, have also chosen to focus on methanol for future ships.
Solutions are no longer castles in the air
However, Bendt Bendtsen and Kent Kirk believe that several in the business community have not yet faced the facts and chosen to jump on the green trend.
- We are making a call to private players, but also municipal players and other parts of the business community that can purchase our products. The solutions exist, they are no longer castles in the air. At Nordhavn Power Solutions, we can supply methanol solutions to both the marine industry and agricultural industry. Methanol is right in front of us, and now we just need to get the business community on board this journey. The price of CO2 emissions will increase in the coming years, which means that more people will have to start switching now. Municipalities can, for example, reduce their CO2 by choosing a methanol solution for their ferries or their construction sites, says Bent Bendtsen.
They have the world's first efficient methanol engine that runs on pure methanol and with methanol container solutions that can benefit the agricultural industry.
- We can see for ourselves that the market for methanol is waking up, and more shipping companies and companies are starting to invest in this direction. Anyone who wants green electricity can get it. It can be anything from ships to construction sites and festivals. We have a strong expectation that it will be really big, says Kent Kirk.
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