Changing climate as US and Denmark push for carbon-neutral shipping

Renewable energy investment and working alongside Denmark to lobby the IMO for zero emissions in shipping by 2050; the US is finally serious about climate change.

Thus far, the US’ commitment to CO₂ reduction in the maritime space has been lacklustre. This despite the fact that the US Department of Energy estimates there may be enough wind energy off America’s thousands of miles of coastline to power the entire nation twice over.

Until now, the US has been more interested in subsidising fracking and shale than establishing new forms of renewable energy. But it appears that is about to change.

With major infrastructure plans, the Biden administration has surprised many with its proactivity on the environment. Even more unexpectedly, one of the world’s biggest CO₂ polluters appears to regard the maritime space as front and centre.

This year, Charybdis, the first wind-turbine installation vessel (WTIV) to be compliant with the Jones Act, which governs the rules around shipping and trade in the US and its island territories, began construction at Keppel AMfels shipyard. Meanwhile, the 800MW Vineyard Wind project has been given the go ahead and will cost around $3bn.

The US has also announced a target of 110GW of offshore wind capacity by 2050, more than double the entire energy consumption of the UK.

The move is being understood as a green jobs programme. Indeed, there is a great deal to gain; the US Department of Energy estimates there may be as much as 2,200 GW of available wind energy off America’s coastline, more than double its consumption today. That would entail enormous monopile and blade-manufacturing capacity – and create hundreds of thousands of well-paying jobs.

“Change of tack”

But this new approach is aimed at shipping too, with the US committed to working with the host country of the world’s largest shipowner, Denmark, to help shipping get to carbon-neutral by 2050.

John Kerry, the US climate envoy, described the move as a “change [of] tack,” and indicated that part of the work to be done would involve lobbying the IMO to apply more ambitious 2050 targets: carbon-neutrality, rather than a 50 per cent reduction over 2008 levels.

US climate envoy John Kerry before a climate meeting in Brussels (Credit: Shutterstock)

“The United States is committing to work with countries in the IMO to adopt a goal of achieving zero emissions from international shipping by 2050,” eliminating CO₂ “as soon as possible.”

A flashpoint of some of this pressure will likely be MEPC 76, in June, when MARPOL Annex VI will be augmented with new guidelines and requirements which could take effect as early as 2023.

Anne Steffenson, CEO of Danish Shipping, Denmark’s shipowners’ association, wrote on LinkedIn, commenting on April’s news: “For several years, the American negotiators have played a very wait-and-see role in the negotiations in the IMO on how much global shipping should reduce CO₂ emissions… This week, however, a very clear and very green mandate was given. Biden’s special climate envoy, John Kerry, proclaimed that the US will now work for global shipping to be carbon neutral by 2050.”

Denmark’s strategy – a new economy

Denmark’s strategy for eliminating CO₂ emissions from shipping hinges on building a new type of economy – based on methanol. Recently, Maersk and DFDS became part of a consortium which also included Copenhagen Airports, airline SAS, logistics company DSV Panalpina, and Orsted to construct a 1.3-gigawatt electrolyser facility to manufacture green (i.e. renewable) hydrogen and methanol. In February, Maersk committed to having a dual-fuel feeder ship running on carbon-neutral methanol by 2023.

The case for e-fuels

While it is currently developed using steam-reformed hydrogen – a process which adds a huge, decidedly non-climate-neutral, amount of CO₂ into the atmosphere – methanol in its sustainable biomass-derived form (bio-methanol) or in its combination renewable-carbon-capture form (e-methanol) is one of the more sensible electro-fuel ideas.

Unlike ammonia, a rival synthetic under consideration, methanol is a stable liquid at room temperature, and no more toxic than marine diesel, meaning it could be easily stored and used as transport fuel. While it would not eliminate CO₂ emissions from the funnel, vapour trail or tailpipe, methanol is a circular-economy fuel, offsetting the use of virgin fossil fuels which add extra CO₂ into the carbon cycle.

One of the additional benefits of electro-fuels such as e-methanol and green hydrogen is that they improve the business case for intermittent renewable sources like wind and solar. Through load-levelling, e-fuel production gives these something to do with their additional power at times when they are producing ‘too much’ electricity for grids to handle.

Potentially requiring e-fuels in massive quantities, then, shipping may soon play a pivotal role in enabling the renewable energy industries to become even more profitable – and, to well and truly sever their reliance on subsidies. 

Denmark, like other nations in northern Europe, is racing to take advantage of wind by building new turbines; although the UK is currently leading the way, having committed to install 40 gigawatts of wind energy capacity by 2030. Now that contest is being joined by the US and China, which Wood Mackenzie projections indicate could install as much as 73 gigawatts offshore by 2030.

Charlie Bartlett is a journalist specialising in maritime.