As part of the Mission Innovation, the global initiative of 22 countries and the European Commission seeks to drive investments in clean energy and accelerate international public-private collaboration to scale and deploy new green maritime solutions.

Led by Denmark, Norway, and the US, in collaboration with the Global Maritime Forum and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, the announcement set international shipping on an ambitious zero emission trajectory towards 2030.

“In Denmark, we believe a greener future is possible – if we work together. As one of the world’s largest maritime nations, Denmark has initiated the Zero-Emission Shipping Mission, with great partners from the public and the private sector from all over the world. Our common goal is to make zero-emission vessels the natural choice for ship owners when they renew their fleet,” said Simon Kollerup, Danish Minister for Industry, Business, and Financial Affairs.

Both Norway and the U.S. echoed the mission’s global potential by underlining the great prospect of turning green shipping into an enticing business case that cuts across sectors and industries:

“The decarbonization of shipping will result in a growing global demand for climate technology in the years ahead. Norway’s and other countries’ leading position in green shipping can become an important competitive advantage, giving the maritime industry huge growth potential in international markets,” expressed Sveinung Rotevatn, Norwegian Minister for Climate and Environment.

“Through fearless technological innovation, ambitious clean energy deployment, and constructive international collaboration, we can build a net-zero carbon economy that creates millions of jobs and lifts our citizens into greater prosperity,” said Jennifer Granholm, U.S. Secretary of Energy, following the announcement.

At least 200 zero-emission ships by 2030

The Zero-Emission Shipping Mission seeks to demonstrate commercially viable zero-emission ships by 2030. With support by the governments of India, Morocco, the U.K., Singapore, France, Ghana, and South Korea, the joint objective is making vessels that operate on zero-emission fuels the natural choice for ship owners when they renew their fleet.

In crystalizing the target and ensuring a broad alliance between countries, the private sector, research institutions and civil society, the mission has set out three overarching goals:

• Develop, demonstrate, and deploy zero-emission fuels, ships, and fuel infrastructure in a coordinated fashion along the full value chain.
• By 2030, ships capable of running on hydrogen-based zero-emission fuels—such as green hydrogen, green ammonia, green methanol, and advanced biofuels—make up at least 5 per cent of the global deep-sea fleet measured by fuel consumption.
• By 2030, at least 200 of these well-to-wake zero-emission fueled ships are in service and utilizing these fuels across their main deep sea shipping routes.

“The shipping industry needs to decarbonize to be part of the solution to the climate crisis. It will not be easy, and we don’t have a lot of time, but it is possible and now is the time to act. The Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping is all about accelerating the transition by finding solutions through collaboration with partners across the ecosystem,” stated Bo Cerup-Simonsen, Chief Executive Officer of the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping.

“Shipping is on the verge of a clean energy revolution. To set the global maritime industry on a climate-aligned course and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, zero-emission vessels need to be the dominant and competitive choice by the end of this decade. The Zero-Emission Shipping Mission will accelerate public and private efforts around the world to make a zero-emission fleet a reality by 2030,” said Johannah Christensen, Managing Director of the Global Maritime Forum.

The Zero-Emission Shipping Mission is part of Mission Innovation, a global initiative of 22 countries and the European Commission which aims to catalyze action and spearhead a decade of innovation to drive global investment in clean energy research, development, and demonstrations.

Related news: Getting to Zero Coalition: A Maritime Moonshot