While they wait for the arrival of sustainable fuels, what are shipping companies doing in the short-term to cut their emissions and ensure their vessels can carry more goods further, using less fuel?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many are looking to innovative technologies, including software to increase efficiency and optimise routes, and metal sails to reduce reliance on polluting fossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These short-term measures are partly driven by new regulations introduced by the European Union (EU) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN body responsible for shipping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tristan Smith, an expert in shipping and energy at University College London\u2019s Energy Institute, said such measures \u201care critical for the shipping sector because the transition away from fossil fuels is not on track to happen fast enough to bring absolute emissions down in line with 1.5C-aligned decarbonisation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cInternational shipping needs to reduce its emissions intensity by about 40% by 2030, [compared to a] 2018 baseline. Very little emissions intensity reduction in that timescale will come from a switch to other fuels because their supply chains are not mature,\u201d Smith added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c[Short-term solutions] can significantly reduce the cost of operating on more expensive ammonia, and reduce the pressure on the ramp-up of supply of ammonia in what is already a very challenging timescale,\u201d he said. Most ammonia today is generated in a highly energy-intensive process<\/a>, which releases large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane. The technology to produce renewable ammonia at scale and store it is not yet available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After many years of dragging its feet, the IMO has finally started introducing regulations<\/a> to curb shipping emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the start of this year, shipping companies must monitor and report their vessels\u2019 annual carbon emissions. All ships over 400 gross tonnage must meet a minimum energy efficiency standard. Ships must also prove they are reducing their carbon intensity \u2013 a metric that combines greenhouse gas emissions with cargo carried and distance travelled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Smith, the carbon intensity requirement \u201ccould be particularly effective at incentivising a broad range of options for reducing CO2 emissions intensity because it acts on the actual emissions in operation.\u201d However, he said the system \u201chas weak stringency that means compliance can be achieved with minimal changes to current practice, and it has little enforcement mechanism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile the EU, as part of efforts to reach its 2030 goal of reducing emissions by at least 55%, is introducing an array of new climate, energy and transport laws, including the incorporation of maritime emissions in the bloc\u2019s emissions trading scheme (ETS)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the start of 2024, all ships transporting goods to and from the EU \u2013 regardless of the flag they fly \u2013 will be taxed on their emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The inclusion of shipping in the ETS will raise a large pool of funds that the EU can use to accelerate innovation and develop low-carbon fuels and renewable energy infrastructure. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The new regulations are driving market demand for carbon-slashing solutions that are currently available, unlike green fuels, said Diane Gilpin, chief executive of the Smart Green Shipping Alliance, a UK-based systems design company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One such solution is wind-assisted technology. Smart Green Shipping has designed a retrofit for ships looking to decarbonise: automated retractable steel and aluminium sails which allow operators to use wind power instead of fossil fuels for part of their voyage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have to start reducing emissions now,\u201d said Gilpin, noting the warning<\/a> from UN climate science body the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), that to keep the 1.5C goal alive, global emissions will need to peak by 2025, halve by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShipping is not on that trajectory, unless it starts thinking about near-term solutions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A pilot project carried out by Smart Green Shipping found that a cargo ship could save 20% in fuel<\/a> every year when fitted with the sails, on a transatlantic voyage from the US to the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smart Green Shipping has developed route-planning software that optimises the use of wind. Gilpin says the sails automatically retract when the wind is too weak and would create drag, or too strong, posing a safety risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe market is really keen on wind, but no one wants to be the first mover,\u201d said Gilpin. \u201cWe aim to give the market confidence.\u201d After securing funding from the UK government and private investors, Smart Green Shipping plans to start retrofitting its technology onto ships for commercial demonstration next year, after testing it on land first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWind is seen as a useful, no regrets solution,\u201d said Gilpin. \u201cBecause if you put wind on now, you reduce your fossil fuel risk exposure and in future you reduce your demand for an alternative fuel, which will be more expensive and less energy dense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In anticipation of the new regulations, Berlin-based start-up Zero44 has developed software that provides ship operators with daily reports on their carbon emissions and forecasts of future emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe ETS is a very immediate challenge for anyone who\u2019s trading in the European Union,\u201d said Zero44\u2019s chief executive Friederike Hesse. \u201cIf shipping companies don\u2019t start managing their emissions very consciously, they will have a problem as [the ETS] will have a huge cost effect immediately. They understand that and they\u2019re reacting to it now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the ETS, the annual operating costs of an average bulk carrier that emits 16,000 tonnes of CO2 per year and trades only between European ports would increase by 1.3 million euros (US$1.4 million) in 2026, according to Hesse.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNew regulations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Container-ship-Lianyungang-port-China-emissions-regulations_Alamy_2NEAFD5.jpg\")
<\/div>Wind propulsion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Wind is seen as a no regrets solution<\/blockquote>Diane Gilpin, Smart Green Shipping Alliance<\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/20230303_Shofu-Maru-wind-assisted-ship_MOL-e1685447481947.png\")
<\/div>![\"A](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Oceanbird_tilted_wings.jpg\")
<\/div>Carbon reporting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n