Patrik
Rautaheimo
Chairman of the Board
Finnish Martine Industry and Elomatic
Finland
Maritime transport is at a turning point as international regulations to reduce emissions tighten. The International Maritime Organization aims to achieve net-zero emissions in shipping by 2050, meaning that most ships will use different fuels than they do today. Achieving emission targets requires building new vessels and retrofitting the existing fleet to lower emissions.
The Finnish maritime industry has a long history of selling environmentally friendly technology to international markets. The industry comprises over a thousand companies, including equipment manufacturers, turnkey suppliers, design firms, system suppliers, software companies, and shipbuilding, ship repair, and offshore yards. Many companies have also significantly reduced their own production emissions in recent years. In the future, when enough carbon-free steel is available for shipbuilding, the carbon footprint of shipbuilding will drop to a fraction of its current level.
The long-term fuel mix will depend on both supply and demand developments. LNG ships are currently being ordered in large numbers, methanol is gaining ground, and ammonia use is expected to increase over time. Electric and hybrid vessels and energy-saving technologies are advancing. Additionally, many technologies are needed to reduce energy consumption to achieve zero emissions.
Low-carbon fuels place entirely new demands on ships, opening up new markets for Finnish companies. Low-emission fuels generally take up much more space than the currently most common fuel, marine gas oil. For example, electric ships are only suitable for short distances near ports because the batteries required for ocean travel would take up too much space. Hydrogen also requires a lot of storage space, making it suitable as a power source only for short routes. However, ammonia and methanol are suitable for ocean transport.
Elomatic has been a pioneer in greening maritime transport. As early as 2010, the company developed the first concept design for the Finnish Border Guard's LNG-powered vessel m/s Turva. Since then, Elomatic has been involved in designing several different ships powered by various low-carbon energy sources. Elomatic has also designed ready-made ship concepts powered by ammonia for different shipping companies recently.
Thus, there is no shortage of technology; the question is who is willing to invest in green technologies and fuels. Reliable plans are also needed for building infrastructure, such as port refueling infrastructure and energy production.
Synthetic fuels are needed
Ensuring sufficient zero-emission energy sources for maritime transport requires utilizing bio-based raw materials, such as fats and lignocellulose, and producing fuels using electricity. With the increase in wind power in the Baltic Sea, the area would have more clean energy for producing, for example, green hydrogen, which should be produced close to the point of use. In the future, production and refueling could take place offshore, where wind conditions are optimal.
Green synthetic fuels produced from hydrogen separated from water using electricity are expected to become more common in about 15 years. Clean energy is key to producing these P2X fuels.
For example, producing ammonia requires a ship that can use the fuel, a plant that produces it, and wind turbines that generate electricity to produce hydrogen. The cost of the new vessel itself is only one-fifth of this total. In order to build capacity for eFuels or as well as for biofuels, long term contracts between shipping company and fuel producers are required. For zero-emission fuels to be competitive, a price on co2 emissions is needed. If there is doubt that current high ambition targets are not going to be regulated as they should (for example high enough co2 emission cost) it is very difficult for shipping company to commit for long term eFuel contracts that increase their cost significantly when comparing to shipping company that uses fossil fuels. Policy in this area should be consistent and reliable.
A cross-sectoral carbon tax is the most sensible way to support the green transition in maritime transport. For example, biochar is currently burned rather than refined into fuel for the shipping industry, which could change with a carbon tax. The EU emission trading system for maritime transport is a good step forward. Emission allowances allocate emission reductions to where it is cheaper to reduce emissions than to purchase allowances.
The technology is ready, the Finnish maritime industry is ready; now we need determined policies, infrastructure investments, and a price on emissions to accelerate the green transition in maritime transport in the Baltic Sea.