Equinor and Total have launched initiatives to reduce the carbon emissions of the ships they use.
Equinor and Total have launched initiatives to reduce the carbon emissions of the ships they use.
The maritime sector represents 6% of total greenhouse gas emissions in Norway and 2-3% of global emissions and Equinor has launched a project to halve carbon emissions from the ships it uses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf to 30% of 2005 levels by 2030 and to halve its global maritime emissions by 2050 compared to 2008 emissions.
As a supplier of fuel to the maritime sector, Equinor has pledged to ‘escalate its production and use of low-carbon fuels’ by 2030 and ‘strongly increase’ production and use of zero-emission fuels by 2050.
Equinor has around 175 vessels on contract with the company at any one time and is already developing new types of vessels and using alternative fuels such as liquefied natural gas (LNG). In 2021 the company said that it will introduce large-scale use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as a fuel.
A new hybrid battery system has been introduced for seven supply vessels on the NCS, and the next generation of dual-fuel vessels is being introduced to the fleet continuously, it added. The company has also started developing the world’s first supply vessel to run on zero-emission ammonia.
It will introduce batteries, hybrid solutions as well as LNG and LPG solutions, while it works towards its longer-term ambition of developing value chains for zero-emission fuels to the maritime sector that will gradually replace low-carbon fuels. This will include increasing the share of biofuel in marine fuels and developing ammonia and hydrogen from natural gas in combination with carbon capture and storage or by electrolysis of water from renewable energy sources.
Irene Rummelhoff, Equinor’s executive vice-president for marketing, midstream and processing (MMP), said: ‘Equinor will play an important role in developing new zero-emission fuels for ships, such as hydrogen and ammonia, in combination with carbon capture and storage. As a major maritime player and a producer of maritime fuels we can help to establish new value chains in the sector, for example by pilot projects together with other players.’
Kjetil Johnsen, vice president for the shipping, ship technology and vetting unit, said: ‘Zero-emission fuels for the maritime sector will require close collaboration between the industry, shipowners, technology suppliers, international organizations and authorities. From 2015, Equinor has gradually renewed its tanker fleet, which is an important contribution to reaching Equinor’s ambitions. We expect the total carbon intensity for the tanker fleet to be reduced by 45% in 2025, compared to 2008.’
Meanwhile, Total has joined the ‘Getting to Zero Coalition’ to support the maritime industry’s decarbonization by collaborating with companies across the maritime, energy, infrastructure and finance sectors with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from shipping by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 levels.
‘As a major energy player, Total is already developing cleaner fuels for the maritime industry.’ said Patrick Pouyanné, president and CEO of Total. ‘By joining the Getting to Zero Coalition, we want to push innovation and foster collective actions with the industry, thus contributing more efficiently to the reduction of the carbon footprint of maritime transport and its energy value chains.’
Total is already helping to reduce the environmental footprint of the shipping industry through the development of marine LNG supply infrastructure, fuel-efficient lubricants, biofuels and batteries. It has also recently announced the long-term chartering of two LNG-propelled VLCCs.
The Getting to Zero Coalition was launched at the United Nations climate summit in New York on September 23, 2019 as a partnership between the Global Maritime Forum, the Friends of Ocean Action and the World Economic Forum. It comprises more than 120 public and private organizations and has been endorsed by 14 countries, including France and the UK. The coalition is aiming to get commercially viable deep-sea zero-emission vessels powered by zero-emission fuels into operation by 2030.
