A.P. Moeller-Maersk (Maersk) has collaborated with a group of industry stakeholders to launch the Maersk McKinney Moeller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, an initiative designed to develop new fuel types and technologies.
In a statement, Maersk said it had partnered with the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Cargill, MAN Energy Solutions, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, NYK Lines and Siemens Energy.
The Maersk McKinney Moeller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping will be based in Copenhagen, Denmark, and has been made possible by a start-up donation of $60 million (400 million Danish kroner) by the A.P. Møller Foundation.
A new Board of Directors will be established to define the strategy of the initiative. Søren Skou, Maersk’s CEO, will be a member, with additional participants to be announced soon.
“The founding partners and the A.P. Møller Foundation share a long-term ambition to decarbonize the shipping industry,” Skou said.
“The establishment of the center is a quantum leap towards realizing that ambition.
“This joint initiative will fast-track the maturation of solutions and strengthen the basis for decision making among industry players and regulators and hence accelerate investments and implementation of new technologies.
“I am looking forward to join the Board of this ambitious collaboration.”
Additionally, Maersk said the founding partners will bring together a “common commitment to decarbonising shipping”, with each having their area of expertise. It also expects more companies to join the initiative in the near future.
Emission-free shipping has become a major goal for Maersk in recent years and in December 2018 it launched a project to make the concept commercially viable by 2030.
