Developing countries explore maritime alternative fuel opportunities

[divider style=”solid” top=”25″ bottom=”25″][dropcap]A[/dropcap] new workshop package on ‘Alternative fuels and energy carriers for maritime shipping’ has been launched (13-16 April).

Georgia, India and South Africa are the first countries to benefit from the package, delivered online and organized under the IMO-Norway GreenVoyage2050 project, with China set to take part in the second workshop at the end of April.

The workshop brought together participants from relevant government agencies, fuel suppliers, shipping companies/shipowners/operators, port authorities and academia to discuss a variety of alternative fuel options for the maritime sector and how these could support achieving the GHG reduction targets set out in the Initial IMO GHG Strategy. The workshop considered key concepts related to alternative fuels and provided detailed information on individual fuels which are i) commercially available, ii) in demonstration phase and iii) under development. For each individual fuel, the following factors were considered:

• Feedstocks and energy sources
• Production technologies
• Onshore requirements
• Onboard requirements
• Environmental impact
• Cost overview
• Regulations, standards and guidance
• Barriers and risks to uptake

Interactive breakout sessions, on the final day, discussed in detail how the uptake of alternative fuels could be enhanced in each of the participating countries, and brainstormed potential alternative fuel opportunities considering the specific national context. As a result, participants identified key next steps that each country could explore further towards the uptake of new low- and zero-carbon fuels.

The workshop package is a key part of the GreenVoyage2050 project’s mission to support partnering countries in the development and implementation of pilot projects.

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