Green shipping corridors can play an important role in decarbonizing the maritime industry before 2050.
We define green shipping corridors as routes where commercial vessels operate using alternative, low-emission fuels, or other means of low-carbon propulsion, like electricity.
The corridors can be network, point-to-point, or single-point corridors (Figure 1). The green corridor projects bring together the entire maritime ecosystem to assess the feasibility of deploying low-emission fuels, thus including fuel producers, ports, vessel owners, and cargo owners.
Green shipping corridors enable early-stage demonstrations of the transition to alternative low-zero-emission marine fuels. They pilot the collaborative solutions required and provide valuable insights that can be scaled to accelerate the transition. This potential was recognized at COP26 in Glasgow when 22 governments signed The Clydebank Declaration for green shipping corridors, confirming their willingness to incentivize the establishment of green corridors by the middle of this decade.
Providing sandboxing for testing technical, regulatory, and funding solutions
which can inform governments on addressing barriers to full-scale adoption. Depending on the price development of alternative and conventional fuels, additional GHG penalties may be required to incentivize green solutions.
Reducing complexity through small scale
of solutions at a well-defined scope (ports, route, vessel type, vessel number, fuel type, cargo type) that limits the number of stakeholders involved.
Enabling a coordinated pace of investments
across the value chain and coordinated allocation of accrued investment costs.
Contributing to future cost-downs
by enabling and sharing early learnings and adoption capabilities before commercial viability.
Photo from the Glansager Biogas and e-methane plant, Denmark
Vessels fueled on LNG today, can achieve thir decarbonization strategy by switching to bio & e-methane.
Stringent methods and facilitators can enable collaboration.
As for any other pre-commercial area, value chain collaboration is required for green shipping corridors to be successful. Collaboration is necessary to design the new ways of working, needed for the transition to alternative fuels, where no positive monetary return exists in the short term, and where no previous projects have paved the road. Collaboration and Funding are the key considerations.
Here, it matters to have a stringent methodology to ensure the collaboration and run the green shipping corridor project and to assess how to close the cost gap. A rigorous methodology provides the stakeholders with a path forward on how to run the project, plan for what can be expected by each stakeholder, and a shared vocabulary for the project's funding needs, given the economic unfeasibility. The Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping has developed such methodologies for both the early screening Pre-Feasibility as well as for the specific corridor maturation Feasibility. The feasibility methodology provides a transparent view of the cost modelling and what is needed regarding public funding. In addition to a stringent method, a neutral facilitator can help foster collaboration and hence accelerate maturation of green shipping corridors. Indeed, the six most developed green corridor projects in the 2024 Status Report, an independent facilitator onboard.
It takes time to get green shipping corridors off the ground. Stakeholder relations must be established, funding mechanisms must be developed, and actual funding be secured. With this in place fuel production, port infrastructure, and vessels must be built. This takes time, and the benefits of green shipping corridors are needed now, to pave the road for the maritime decarbonization. Now is the time to demonstrate that green maritime solutions are possible, de-risk the next wave of implementation, generate tech learnings, and inform governments on barriers to full adoption.
Explore our portfolio
The Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping has worked intensively with green corridors over the last four years.
This has led to the involvement in more than 25 green corridor projects around the world, each revealing critical insight for fuels, ports, vessels, regulation and countries.
The main challenge for enabling a transition in the maritime industry is the cost delta between currently CO2 emitting fuels, and their low-zero-emitting counterparts. Green Corridor Cost Model has been developed to be a tool that will accompany and inform projects throughout the lifetime of their feasibility assessment with the accuracy of the output increasing as more inputs which were previously model assumptions are replaced with real data from commercial stakeholders.
The Pasig River runs through Manila, Philippines. A number of tank terminals are located along the river bank. These can be used for sustainable bio-fuels produced in the Philippines.
A stringent methodology
The Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping has developed methodologies that makes it easier for project developers, regulators, policymakers and other decision makers to take the first steps in identifying relevant corridors in an areas and determine the corridors most likely to be implemented in their region.
Pre-Feasibility Phase
The Pre-Feasibility Methodology provides a stringent and transparent methodology for identifying possible corridors in a given area.
The methodology builds on public available data, and identify a suite of possible corridors, which each could be matured further, should there be the necessary commitment from commercial entities.
The Feasibility Methodology provides a guide for a consortium of likeminded commercial entities, who wants to assess the feasibility of a specific corridor (agreed fuel, fixed route/string, number of vessels). The work builds on the work done by the commercial companies, including the assessment of the incremental cost of operating the corridor on alternative fuel.
