Can Norway’s electric ferries pave the way for zero-emission shipping?

Kirsten Å. Øystese,
Project Manager,
Norwegian Climate Foundation,
Norway

In 2015, the world’s very first electric car ferry started to operate in Norway. Now, six years later, more than 40 are in operation in the Norwegian fjords. Reaching zero-emission shipping globally by 2050 will be much more challenging, but perhaps there’s something to be learned from Norway?

Shipping means trade. More than 80 per cent of goods in cross-continental trade are transported by ship. In the last decade, the growth in global trade has led to both more and bigger ships sailing the seven seas. These almost exclusively run on fossil fuels and shipping accounts for 2-3% of global CO₂ emissions.

Climate goals for shipping

Along with international aviation, international shipping is the only industry not included in the Paris Agreement. It is not the responsibility of any one country to cut emissions from vessels that sail from one country to another.

On Friday 13 April 2018, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted a resolution containing an ambition to reduce emissions from international shipping by at least 50 per cent by 2050. This is a good start. However, halving emissions by 2050 is far from enough.

To achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and limit global warming to well below 2 degrees and preferably down to 1.5 degrees, it is essential to rapidly reduce and eventually eliminate anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions must be halved by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.

Norway has taken the lead

In Norway, the path towards zero-emission shipping began with the electrification of car ferries. Car ferries form part of Norway’s road network by connecting islands to the mainland. They bring different areas closer together, allowing people to live on one side of the fjord and work or go to school on the other. National and regional authorities are responsible for the ferries, represented by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration or the regional county councils.

Ambitious policy and clear climate and environmental requirements have played a decisive role in replacing diesel-run ferries with battery-run ferries.

In 2010, the Public Roads Administration saw the possibility of using competitive tenders to achieve more energy-efficient and eco-friendly ferries. It announced a tender competition containing the requirement of 15–20 per cent lower energy consumption and emissions.

This competition stirred the interest of the ferry operators, shipyards and the maritime industry as a whole. As it turned out, the market delivered far beyond the Public Roads Administration’s requirement. The result was Ampere – the first fully-electric ferry, which could transport 120 cars and 360 passengers completely emission free.

In 2015, the same year that Ampere started to operate, the Norwegian Parliament requested that the Government ensure that all upcoming ferry tender competitions contained a requirement for low or zero emission technology where possible. As a result, more than 40 battery-run ferries currently in operation, and more are expected in the coming years.

Norwegian car ferries unlike any other vessels

Norwegian car ferries are relatively small vessels. They run over short distances at moderate speed and on fixed routes. This differs significantly from the types of vessels and types of marine transport used in international shipping, characterised by large container ships, bulk carriers and tankers which sail all around the world.

Batteries are not the solution to achieving zero emissions across the entire international shipping sector. Large vessels will need other energy solutions, such as green ammonia, green methanol or other carbon-free and carbon-neutral fuels.

This is possible to achieve. Shipping companies, shipyards and engine manufacturers are aspiring to design and test energy systems and new green fuels. The problem is that it is taking much too long. Political ambitions are weak. The minimal requirements that do exist are far from adequate to ensure the right tempo. And without putting a price on emissions, conventional fossil fuels are near impossible to compete against.

Ambitious goals and clear requirements have been decisive to Norway having the highest density of battery-run ferries in the world. Ambitions and requirements generated new, innovative solutions.

Equally clear climate targets and emission requirements can also generate a green transition in shipping in the rest of the world.

The requirements must come from the IMO and heads of state. They must come from companies that use shipping as a means of transporting their goods. They must come from the finance sector that grants loans and makes investments in shipping, and they must come from us, as consumers, who buy the goods that in one or another part of the production chain have been shipped.

When the requirements are clear enough, the necessary solutions will be developed to achieve zero emissions by 2050.

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