Hapag-Lloyd partners Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping

German container shipping major Hapag-Lloyd and Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping have formalized their collaboration by signing a partnership agreement on 12 April.

With the agreement, Hapag-Lloyd becomes a corporate strategic partner to the center, committing to a long-term strategic collaboration and contribution to the development of zero-carbon technologies and solutions for the maritime industry.

Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth-largest container shipping company according to Alphaliner, recently announced it is intensifying efforts to reduce its fleet emission by 30 percent by 2030 and aims to be climate-neutral by 2045.

As a partner to the center, Hapag-Lloyd will be closely involved with the center team and provide support in realizing the center’s transition strategy.

Additionally, Hapag Lloyd will join the center advisory board providing guidance for transition strategies and further development of the center’s activities.

“Hapag-Lloyd is a perfect match for the center. They have made ambitious commitments to reduce carbon emissions and are pursuing those goals by making extensive investments in new dual-fueled ships and an … energy efficiency program,” Bo Cerup-Simonsen, CEO of Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, commented.

“Sustainability is firmly anchored in Hapag-Lloyd and a main pillar of our strategy. We consider decarbonization to be one of our key tasks, which we can only achieve by working together as an industry. By joining forces with the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, we hope to further accelerate the move towards climate-neutral shipping,” Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO at Hapag-Lloyd, said.

Less than a month ago, Hapag-Lloyd also joined the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD), committing to cooperate on efforts contributing to maritime decarbonization. The German company invested $10 million in the center, giving a further boost to GCMD’s efforts in conducting pilots and trials.

Shipping’s roadmap to decarbonization

With 100,000 ships consuming around 300 million tons 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 into scalable solutions matching the needs of the industry. At the same time, new legislation will be required to enable the transition towards decarbonization.

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