The New Green Infrastructure in Sea Freight
Sea freight and the infrastructure that supports it are taking increasingly rapid steps to reduce harmful emissions on the path towards carbon neutrality and environmental protection. Scandinavian countries and the United Kingdom are leading many of Europe’s best practices, while the EU continues to face strategic and economic challenges in its green maritime policy.
Port of Gothenburg and its “digital port calls”
The Port of Gothenburg, together with artificial-intelligence company Awake.AI, has been developing a joint project to digitalise vessel calls. The initiative is expected to save close to 1,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year and significantly optimise operational resources. Communication related to each vessel call will be centralised through a Digital Port Call process, supporting planning from before arrival at the roadstead through to departure using the Alberth planning system. The project aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 70% by 2030.
The new system was expected to enter service in early 2024 and substantially improve supply-chain operations in the port region.
“Sea Change” at Portsmouth International Port
Portsmouth received GBP 19.8 million in funding through the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure (ZEVI) programme, supported by the UK Treasury and Innovate UK. The funding is being shared among participants including Brittany Ferries, the University of Portsmouth, MSE International, B4T, IOTICS and Swanbarton. The project, known as Sea Change, is intended to develop an intelligent shore-power system for the port’s three most heavily used berths.
The system will support two new hybrid ferries powered by electric motors and gas turbines. The shore-power installation is expected to reduce local air pollution, introduce stricter environmental standards and save more than 20,000 tonnes of CO2 per year once operating at full capacity. Together with the port’s solar battery system, it forms part of a broader programme aimed at achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.
Another Maersk green-methanol project
As part of A.P. Moller-Maersk’s ongoing efforts to decarbonise its sea operations, the group announced the creation of a new green-methanol company called C2X. The company is intended to support projects in Suez, Spain, the US, India and Australia. C2X aims to produce 3 million tonnes of green methanol annually by 2030. Although this would still be below Maersk’s projected own needs, scalable and economically viable production could significantly affect the market.
Green methanol remains relatively scarce and expensive and can be produced from biomass or from captured carbon and renewable hydrogen. According to company projections, global demand for green methanol could reach 150 million tonnes annually by 2050.
Two alternatives for decarbonising sea freight?
According to Lloyd’s Register’s report on the future of maritime fuels, two parallel pathways are emerging: one based on hydrogen and dominated by e-ammonia, and another based on biofuels such as biomethane. The report suggests that e-ammonia could become the most widely used fuel by 2050, with a share of around 35%.
Analysts also expect methanol to have a smaller market share than ammonia and biomethane. The key conclusion is that investors and shipowners face uncertainty over which technology will dominate in the near or more distant future, making pioneering initiatives such as green shipping corridors important for reducing risk and building market confidence.