Today, the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency and Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping signed a Partnership Agreement as a formal recognition of their joint working. It means the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency becomes an official partner to the Center, committing to a long-term strategic collaboration about the development of zero carbon solutions for the maritime industry.

The two organizations will share their respective expertise as they work to accelerate the development and implementation of the future fuels and solutions needed to decarbonize shipping.

As part of this effort, the two partners have committed to extensive knowledge sharing within research and development. This will involve joint activities on an industry transition strategy including an action plan for the development of regulation and policies enabling the maritime industry to meet the target of decarbonization by 2050.

The MCA will also be involved in the further development of techno-economic modelling, enabling the comparison of future fuels across segments and geography.

In welcoming the MCA to the Center, CEO Bo Cerup-Simonsen says: “Public private partnerships are a central part of a successful journey towards zero carbon shipping in 2050. The collaboration with MCA is an excellent example of a highly complementary partnership that will strengthen our ability to create a sustainable transition strategy and influence the enabling regulatory framework. We look forward to the collaboration.”

Brian Johnson, CEO of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: “At the heart of the partnership lies a common vision and that vision is about creating a sustainable way to make zero carbon shipping the future of maritime.”

Shipping’s road map to decarbonization

With 70.000 ships consuming m300Tons fuel p.a. global shipping accounts for around 3% of global carbon emissions, a share that is likely to increase as other industries tackle climate emissions in the coming decades.

Achieving the long-term target of decarbonization requires new fuel types and a systemic change within the industry. Shipping is a globally regulated industry, which provides an opportunity to secure broad-based industry adoption of new technology and fuels.

To accelerate the development of viable technologies a coordinated effort within applied research is needed across the entire supply chain. Industry leaders play a critical role in ensuring that laboratory research is successfully matured to scalable solutions matching the needs of industry. At the same time, new legislation will be required to enable the transition towards decarbonization.

About The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is a frontline emergency response agency of the Department for Transport. As well as delivering maritime search and rescue through HM Coastguard (one of the four UK emergency services), the MCA is responsible for maritime regulation, safety and counter-pollution.

About the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping

The Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping is a not-for-profit, independent research- and development center working across the energy- and shipping sectors with industry, academia and authorities. With Partners, the Center create overview of viable decarbonization pathways, facilitate the development and implementation of new energy technologies; build confidence in new concepts and their supply chains; and accelerate the transition by defining and maturing viable strategic pathways to the required systemic change. The Center is placed in Copenhagen but work with partners globally.