Green Corridors Pre-Feasibility Phase Blueprint

-Contribute to the development of alternative fuel supply chains, offtake, and lead to reduced cost.

-Address current cost-gaps and propose / develop measures to overcome these gaps

-Unite individual first mover actions across the value chain and accelerate decarbonization processes in a specific geographical area

The collaborative nature of green corridors creates a space for pre-competitive testing and commercial trials of technologies and market solutions. The experience of planning, implementing, and operating green corridors is also valuable for informing and accelerating the development of effective regulation and in general remove some of the uncertainties and risks faced by first movers. Furthermore, the 'ring-fenced' partnership approach (e.g., consortium) between public and private players promotes collaboration across the supply chain and sharing of costs and benefits.

To reap the benefits and meet the high ambition level of the Clydebank Declaration, it is paramount that green corridor maturation is done by as many companies / organizations as possible. To accelerate the generation of green corridors, the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping and selected partners have developed blueprints for both the pre-feasibility and the feasibility phase. These blueprints serve as ready-to-use guides for any stakeholder involved or wanting to get involved in green shipping corridors.

1.Introduction

2.Data, interviews, and results

3.Interpretation and discussion

The blueprint provides a data-driven approach where an area is screened based on specific selection criteria. The result is a suite of green corridor options to be further assess in the feasibility phase.

Step 1: Introduction, vision and project setup

Identification of project vision and possible green corridors in the defined area of interest including region specific drivers and constraints.

Step 2: Alternative fuels: Timing, capacity, emission, and cost

Mapping of fuel supply possibilities within the area including considerations around cost, current and future production capacity and expected competition. Fuel LCA - estimation of the well-to-wake reduction potential for each alternative fuel considered.

Step 3: Port, storage, and bunkering infrastructure

Identification of ports in the defined area and description of crucial, port specific restrictions. Mapping of port readiness level assessment (bunkering and call) for relevant ports.

Step 4: Trade routes, vessels, cargo, and services

Mapping of emissions and fuel consumption in the area by vessel segments. Analysis of import and export by cargo type, services, volume, value, (vessel / operator specific) trade routes and vessel segments for defined region. Mapping and quantification of the additional cost of green services and transport

Step 5: Policy, regulation, and funding

Assessment of the regulatory landscape in the area to identify possible discriminating factors. When the first round of data gathering is completed, it is crucial to verify it by interviewing stakeholders across the value chain and regulators in the areas of interest (chapters 1-5). Following the interview round, the data tables are updated and finalized.

Step 6: Selecting potential green corridors

Mapping and ranking Green Corridor selection criteria (might be related to vision and objectives) and list possible green corridors.

While CO2 emission abatement is the ultimate goal, the fastest way to achieve it, is not necessarily to address the largest emitters. In some areas, the availability of specific fuel might make a certain vessel segment the most relevant while in others it can be secondary attributes, like availability of local workforce, infrastructural development opportunities or the opportunity to increase technical insights.

Certain regulation or funding options might also influence the decision, allowing certain corridors or segments of fuels to be given a head-start. This blueprint process includes gathering a lot of data, allowing multiple criteria to inform the decision of which green corridors to pursue.

When the process has been repeated to the extent needed, and the number of corridors is decided, the CO2 emission of each corridor needs to be calculated. This is done by simply assessing the fuel need per nautical mile as well as the fuel need during port stay and navigation (in energy units).

These numbers are multiplied by operational profile, ratio of ‘days at sea vs. days in port’ for the specific corridor. Finally, the length of the corridor and the number of vessels are multiplied. In this way, the total energy consumption can be estimated, and the CO2e emission for fueling the corridor with MFO / LSFO vs. an alternative fuel can be assessed.

The data gathered as part of the pre-feasibility process is meant to guide the following actual assessment of the feasibility of a green corridor.

The data set doesn’t necessarily need to be complete to provide foundation for the decision to proceed to feasibility assessment. If suggested data tables are not generated it simply means that certain criteria cannot be activated. And opposite - if more data can be gathered, it will generate additional selection criteria.

Step 7: Next Steps

The process ends with the planning of Consortia Incubation Workshop, alignment on project governance, funding, and resourcing requirements to complete the feasibility phase and develop a communications and engagement plan.

Each chapter carefully guides the reader through the process with easy-to-use tables in the complementary Excel toolbox that helps ensure that all necessary data is gathered. The purpose of each data table is explained and leads to the final suite of corridors. In addition, the toolbox contains tables that are pre-populated with examples from already completed Green Corridor Pre-Feasibility Assessments including the specific source for the data. This will allow the user to get inspiration to both, data formatting as well as guiding to relevant sources for the required type of data.

The Pre-Feasibility Blueprint strive to bring the concept of green corridors from a political ambition level to a more practical working level, in recognition of the importance of the Green Corridors as a key igniter of the decarbonization of shipping.