Call for commitment to hydrogen fuels made at COP27

MAN Energy Solutions, along with other leading organisations across the shipping value-chain and the largest producers of green hydrogen, signed a ‘Joint Statement on Green Hydrogen and Green Shipping’ at COP27. The document commits all signatories to the rapid adoption of green hydrogen-based fuels during the current decade to achieve the full decarbonisation of shipping by 2050.

Other signatories included the Aspen Institute, the Global Maritime Forum’s Getting to Zero Coalition, the Green Hydrogen Catapult, InterContinental Energy, Fortescue Future Industries and A.P. Moller – Maersk.

The signatories have agreed to pursue cross-sector collaboration to achieve:

• commercially-viable, zero-emission, deep-sea vessels from 2030 with the intention of using exclusively zero-emission-powered ocean-freight services by 2040;
• the scaling-up of green hydrogen production to 5.5 million tons per year by 2030;
• the full decarbonisation of the shipping sector by 2050 at the latest.

The letter states: “Together, we call on others in our sectors to make similar commitments. These should include:

• Commitments by green hydrogen producers to work with us to collectively meet at least a 5.5-million-ton 2030 production target for use by the shipping sector

• Commitments by ship owners, operators, and financers to invest in zero emission vessels and the production of zero emissions fuels to meet the goal of 5% zero-emission fuels use by 2030 and rapid scaling thereafter

• Commitments by implementers and users of green corridors to implement a rapid ramp up of zero emission shipping over coming years

• Commitments by ports to invest in green hydrogen infrastructure projects to support refuelling of ships, and to become part of green corridor projects which help further incentivize the production of green hydrogen for shipping fuels.”

Additionally, the signatories call upon international authorities and national governments to support private-sector commitments with a correspondingly ambitious policy, and specifically asked the IMO and member states to commit to a 100% emissions reduction within the maritime sector by 2050 with robust, interim targets.

CEO Uwe Lauber, signed the Joint Statement on behalf of MAN Energy Solutions and said: “Decarbonisation of the marine industry is a mammoth undertaking but, I believe, eminently achievable through cooperation with like-minded industry partners. At MAN Energy Solutions, we believe that hydrogen has a key role to play in getting to net zero and our recent, significant investment in our hydrogen subsidiary, H-TEC SYSTEMS, intends to quickly transform it into a mass-producer of PEM electrolysers. More than anything, the world needs a massive amount of industrially-scaled, green hydrogen production to build momentum for the broad adoption of hydrogen as a maritime fuel.”

The Joint Statement was facilitated by Climate Change ‘High-Level Champions’ – UN nominees that connect governmental work with the voluntary and collaborative initiatives taken by cities, regions, businesses and investors – and non-profit energy organisation, RMI.

The Champions state: “Longer term, a decarbonised global shipping sector will become one of the largest demand sources for green hydrogen, projected to account for approximately 15% of total green hydrogen demand by 2050, providing a clear long-term dependable demand signal to the industry. However, creating this virtuous circle of demand and supply will require fast and bold action.”