The Coalition for the Energy of the Future makes headway
Shipping’s biggest names are joining many different future fuel associations. One making some headway is the Coalition for the Energy of the Future. Launched in France two years ago with AWS, Carrefour, CMA CGM Group, Cluster Maritime Français, Crédit Agricole CIB, ENGIE, Faurecia, Michelin, Schneider Electric, Total and Wärtsilä as founding members, the coalition has just welcomed Airbus, Bureau Veritas and PSA International onboard as well as outlining key initiatives for this year.
The coalition aims to develop hydrogen-powered fuel cell long distance zero-emission trucks this year, as well as carrying out extensive biofuel tests on ships. The backers are also working on developing carbon neutral liquefied natural gas, something that will be keenly supported by CMA CGM, one of shipping’s biggest adherents of LNG-powered vessels today. Other projects underway look at green electricity for warehouses and zero emission vehicles for road, air and sea with a likely focus on hydrogen and ammonia. The group is also developing a digital ecocalculator, certifying the door-to-door CO2 impact on any given transportation routing as well as proposing low-emission alternatives.
Jean-Brice Dumont, executive vice president engineering, Airbus, commented: “We are convinced of the benefits that joint initiatives can bring in finding innovative solutions to reduce the C02 emissions of our industry — because we know this challenge requires a collective effort. We believe this coalition will foster the development of creative projects with effective results that will pioneer new mobility models across the sector.”