MAERSK aims to reach “carbon neutrality” by 2050, and to achieve this goal, the company said “carbon neutral” vessels must be commercially viable by 2030.
An announcement from the company said climate is one of the most important issues in the world, and carrying around 80% of global trade, the shipping industry is vital to finding ways to reduce emissions.
As world trade and thereby shipping volumes will continue to grow, efficiency improvements on the current fossil fuel-based technology can only keep shipping emissions at current levels, but not reduce them significantly or eliminate them.
A.P. Moller – Maersk CEO Søren Toft said the only possible way to achieve the much-needed decarbonisation of the industry is by fully transforming to new carbon-neutral fuels and supply chains.
“The next five to 10 years are going to be crucial. We will invest significant resources for innovation and fleet technology to improve the technical and financial viability of decarbonised solutions,” he said.
“Over the past four years, we have invested around US$1bn and engaged more than 50 engineers each year in developing and deploying energy efficient solutions. Going forward we cannot do this alone.”
Maersk said it was putting its efforts towards solving problems specific to maritime transport, as it calls for different solutions than automotive, rail and aviation.
The yet to come electric truck is expected to be able to carry max 2 TEU and is projected to run 800 kilometres per charging. In comparison, a container vessel carrying thousands of TEU sailing from Panama to Rotterdam makes around 8800 kilometres. With short battery durability and no charging points along the route, innovative developments are imperative.
Maersk announced it was planning to initiate “open and collaborative” dialogue with “all possible parties” to tackle the issue of climate change.
