The A.P. Møller - Mærsk group has put its money where its mouth is in the march towards the decarbonisation of the shipping industry.
A group of leading industry players which include ABS, A.P. Møller - Mærsk, Cargill, MAN Energy Solutions, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, NYK Line and Siemens Energy, have given their commitment to developing new fuel types and technologies by launching the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping.
The centre, which will be based in Copenhagen, Denmark, has been made possible by a start-up donation of DKK 400m by the A.P. Møller Foundation.
The centre will be a non-profit organisation, set up as a commercial foundation with a charitable purpose. As an independent research centre, it will work across the entire shipping sector with industry, academia and authorities. A highly specialised, cross-disciplinary team will collaborate globally to create overviews of decarbonisation pathways, accelerate the development of selected decarbonising fuels and powering technologies, and support the establishment of regulatory, financial and commercial means to enable transformation.
Søren Skou, CEO of A.P. Møller – Mærsk, has been confirmed as a board member. Additional members are still to be announced.
During the first two to three years the centre will recruit around 100 employees to the Copenhagen-based office and collaborate with new partners across the globe.
The shipping sector accounts for around 3% of global carbon emissions. The industry has made a firm commitment to reduce this to zero within this century. Short-term measures related to increased energy efficiency are enabling a 40% relative reduction by 2030.