SMW 2024: US DOE and Singapore partners team up to achieve maritime decarbonisation

The US Department of Energy (DOE) on Wednesday (17 April) announced it was advancing ambitious decarbonisation targets for the maritime transportation sector, both domestically and internationally, during the Singapore Maritime Week 2024.

DOE said it was teaming with over 15 government and industry partners in Singapore to foster partnerships and collaborate on clean energy solutions aimed at achieving net zero-emissions in the maritime sector by 2050. 

Domestically, DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is joining with the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) to create opportunities for data and information sharing to strengthen U.S. shipping. 

The U.S. co-led, Mission Innovation: Zero-Emission Shipping Mission (ZESM), an international collaboration among countries, the private sector, research institutes and civil society, announced updated goals to accelerate the maritime decarbonisation transition by 2030. These goals include: 

• Increasing the number of large international ships running on zero-emission fuels by 2030 from 200 to 600 vessels;
• Adopting an annual fuel production goal of 16 million metric tonnes of heavy fuel oil equivalent (on an energy basis) zero-emission fuels by 2030; and
• Increasing the number of key ports offering zero-emission bunkering from 10 to 20.

“As we move to fully decarbonise the global maritime sector by 2050, we need to ensure we are receptive to new information in this ever-changing landscape,” said Michael Berube, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Sustainable Transportation and Fuels at EERE. 

“With this in mind, I am very excited that the Zero Emission Shipping Mission has reevaluated and adjusted our 2030 milestones to further align them with mission member assessments and the revised International Maritime Organisation goals.”

Domestically, DOE spearheads the interagency development of the U.S. Maritime Decarbonisation Action Plan and funds research and development to reduce maritime transportation sector GHG emissions. Industry and stakeholder engagement is essential to continuing U.S. leadership. 

To propel this work, the DOE’s Office of EERE is announcing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between EERE and the ABS. This MoU will further clean energy development and decarbonisation of the maritime industry. 

The MoU facilitates open engagement, information sharing, and collaborative research on U.S. maritime transportation decarbonisation strategies in the following areas:

• U.S. Delegation to the Zero Emission Shipping Mission
• U.S. Maritime Decarbonisation Action Plan
• Analysis for Low Carbon Intensity Energy in the Maritime Shipping Domain
• Analysis for Low- and Zero-Emission Fuels/Electrification Implementation for Vessels and Port Operations

Photo credit: US Department of Energy
Published: 22 April 2024