U.S. Department of Energy Advances Zero-Emissions Targets

This week at Singapore Maritime Week, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is advancing ambitious decarbonization targets for the maritime transportation sector, both domestically and internationally.

DOE is teaming with over 15 government and industry partners in Singapore to foster partnerships and collaborate on clean energy solutions aimed at achieving net zero-emissions in the maritime sector by 2050. Domestically, DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is joining with ABS to create opportunities for data and information sharing to strengthen U.S. shipping.  

The U.S. co-led, Mission Innovation: Zero-Emission Shipping Mission (ZESM), an international collaboration among countries, the private sector, research institutes and civil society, announced updated goals to accelerate the maritime decarbonization transition by 2030. These goals include:

• Increasing the number of large international ships running on zero-emission fuels by 2030 from 200 to 600 vessels;

• Adopting an annual fuel production goal of 16 million metric tons of heavy fuel oil equivalent (on an energy basis) zero-emission fuels by 2030; and

• Increasing the number of key ports offering zero-emission bunkering from 10 to 20.

“As we move to fully decarbonize the global maritime sector by 2050, we need to ensure we are receptive to new information in this ever-changing landscape,” said Michael Berube, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Sustainable Transportation and Fuels at EERE. “With this in mind, I am very excited that the Zero Emission Shipping Mission has reevaluated and adjusted our 2030 milestones to further align them with mission member assessments and the revised International Maritime Organization goals.”

Domestically, DOE spearheads the interagency development of the U.S. Maritime Decarbonization Action Plan and funds research and development to reduce maritime transportation sector GHG emissions. To propel this work, the DOE’s Office of EERE is announcing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between EERE and the ABS. The MoU facilitates open engagement, information sharing, and collaborative research on U.S. maritime transportation decarbonization strategies.

Outside of Mission Innovation, DOE, in collaboration with the U.S. State Department and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, is leading the Green Shipping Corridor Initiation Project including partnerships with Panama, Namibia, and The Pacific Blue Shipping Partnership.