GCMD, Equinor partner to advance alternative fuel, carbon value chains
The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation announced Sept. 22 a five-year “impact partnership” with Equinor, an energy company majority-owned by the Norwegian government.
The partnership brings together GCMD’s capabilities in conducting real-world maritime pilots with Equinor’s experience as a charterer, energy provider and developer of low-carbon solutions.
Together, the organizations will leverage their complementary expertise to help address technical and operational gaps in scaling alternative marine fuels and supporting the development and uptake of other maritime-decarbonization solutions.
Advancing safe deployment, assurance of alternative marine fuels
GCMD’s work on alternative fuels, including biofuels, ammonia and methanol, focuses on two critical aspects of deployment: operational safety and robust monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV).
Its pilots and studies are generating operational data to support safe bunkering and handling of these fuels.
At the same time, its assurance work seeks to strengthen confidence in quantity, quality and greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions abatement.
Equinor brings extensive experience as a vessel charterer and marine fuel supplier.
This includes chartering dual-fuel liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and methanol tankers, testing and using biofuels and supplying methanol to the maritime sector.
Equinor is also piloting the use and supply of ammonia as a marine fuel, contributing to the development of associated safety, regulatory and bunkering arrangements.
Combining these perspectives can help address practical barriers to alternative fuels deployment while strengthening assurance across emerging marine fuel value chains.
Supporting uptake of maritime-decarbonization solutions
Beyond alternative fuels, GCMD is working to accelerate the adoption of solutions that can reduce emissions from the existing fleet, including energy-efficiency technologies (EETs) and onboard carbon-capture and storage (OCCS).
GCMD’s work on EETs includes quantifying real-world fuel savings from technologies such as wind-assisted propulsion systems and developing financing mechanisms to scale their adoption.
In OCCS, Project “Captured” demonstrated an end-to-end value chain for onboard captured and liquefied CO2, generating evidence that contributed to the recognition of captured CO2 under the EU Emissions Trading System and in-principle support at the International Maritime Organization for recognizing carbon mineralization as permanent storage.
Equinor brings decades of experience in offshore CO2 storage, including its role in the development and operation of Northern Lights, the world’s first cross-border CO2 transport and storage facility, where liquefied CO2 is transported by ship to an onshore receiving terminal before it is sent by pipeline for permanent geological storage beneath the North Sea.
Through the partnership, GCMD and Equinor will explore opportunities to combine their respective capabilities and experience to support the deployment and scaling of maritime-decarbonization solutions.
“We are excited about what this partnership with Equinor can unlock,” said GCMD CEO Lynn Loo. “Shipping’s transition will require a portfolio of decarbonization solutions, and moving them from promising concepts and demonstrations to adoption at scale requires us to address the practical barriers that remain. GCMD is proud to join forces with Equinor to generate the operational evidence needed to close these gaps and build confidence in solutions that can deliver meaningful emissions reductions.”
Anne Mai Hatlem, an executive with Equinor, said, “The maritime energy transition requires collaboration across industries and value chains, and we’re excited to join GCMD as an impact partner. Equinor brings expertise and practical experience from across the energy and maritime sectors, and we look forward to working with and learning from other industry partners. Together, we can help address barriers, improve understanding of emerging solutions and support progress towards lower-emission shipping.”
