THE FOURTH edition of the Mapping of Zero-Emission Pilots and Demonstration Projects report has identified increased activity among industry to innovate and find collaborative ways to decarbonise shipping by 2050.
The report was published by the Global Maritime Forum.
At a workshop reception at the Getting to Zero Coalition Workshop French Ministry of the Sea director general for maritime affairs Eric Banel said: “To achieve zero emissions by 2050, we will need three main assets. First, we need technology and in France we are investing in the ecosystem of innovation and trying to integrate the whole value chain. Second, we need a trajectory, a common path, that must be set at a global level; that is why an upcoming discussion at the International Maritime Organisation [MEPC80 meeting] is very important. And third, we need financing on a national and international level that can enhance technical collaboration and help emerging countries join the decarbonisation.”
This year’s report identified 373 zero-emission pilot and demonstration projects, which is an 84% increase over last year’s edition.
Notably, new projects have emerged in Thailand, Egypt, Malaysia, and South Africa.
According to the report, identified pilot projects take a highly collaborative approach, with 70% of the identified projects involving partners from at least two countries.
Partnerships are growing between developing and developed countries as well and there is a global spread with some regions having higher industry activity than others. Most projects are based in Europe (56%), Asia (33%), and North America (9%), and the top three countries by the number of projects are Norway, Japan, and Denmark.
Findings see a continued increase in projects focusing on hydrogen-based fuels with ammonia and hydrogen in the lead. Ammonia is the dominant fuel focus for larger ship types; ammonia-powered ship designs received most of the approvals in principle in the last year.
For smaller ships, the leading technologies remain battery technology, hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen internal combustion engines, and methanol. More mature methanol technologies have begun to move beyond pilot work to a commercialisation phase.
Global Maritime Forum CEO Johannah Christensen said there have been tangible actions from the industry that demonstrate their eagerness to decarbonise by 2050.
“It is promising that the number of zero-emission pilot and demonstration projects is increasing each year and impactful projects are being developed in the global south,” she said.
“Now we need industry’s actions to be backed by an ambitious revised greenhouse gas emissions strategy from the International Maritime Organization.”
The Getting to Zero Coalition Workshop, hosted by the Global Maritime Forum in collaboration with Bureau Veritas and the French Maritime Cluster.
