My role as head of sales for Marine Systems at ABB Marine & Posts means that I inevitably talk with all sorts of people across the industry. I know that one of the things at the front of people’s minds is the uncertainty around the availability and cost of alternative future energy modes. It is possibly the biggest challenge for companies looking to decarbonize.
To do so, every industry and corner of society must pull in the same direction — maritime is no different. We cannot wait for fully electrified infrastructure or other industries to fully transition to renewables or wait for breakthroughs in novel energy sources, such as hydrogen, biofuel, and methanol production. Investment and innovation in these areas are welcome but maritime — similar to any carbon intensive industry — cannot rely on others before we take action ourselves.
This is where electrification comes in.
It presents a two-fold opportunity for feasibly decarbonizing and aligning with global shifts.
Firstly, transitioning to electric drive trains and propulsion enables making flexible use of the full scale of renewable energy modes. With batteries and fuel cells vessels can run on anything from nuclear to green hydrogen. Electrification is how uncertainty around emerging energy infrastructure can be overcome. Action today can safeguard maritime no matter the eventual direction of travel.
Secondly, electrification is an ideal blueprint for efficiency improvements. Electric propulsion systems are enormously efficient and utilities that run on electricity are highly adept at enhancing efficiency through automation and digital solutions.
Decarbonization is happening for two major reasons. One is for the good of the planet, the other one is savings. After all, the cleanest and cheapest fuel is the one that remains unused. Electrification enables vessel owners and operators to walk and run at the same time; it is the way maritime can reach those around-the-corner milestones by 2030 in a financially viable way, while optimally positioning businesses to make the necessary leaps towards 2050.
It is probably true that, as an industry, we are starting late when it comes to decarbonization. But it is never too late to take the first or next step. The alternative is waiting for vessels licenses to operate vanish. Electrification is a fast way to get a move on, even for vessels that have been sailing for decades. At ABB, we have plenty of cases where electrification has increased asset lifetime and generates savings every mile and minute. Not everything can happen all at once, but there are feasible solutions for all types of vessels. We believe every vessel can be decarbonized.
Climate change and the push towards decarbonization is no longer a new phenomenon. The solutions of electrification and the associated benefits, such as digitalization and automization are also no longer entirely novel. Maritime, like other industries, increasingly employs a workforce that have no memory of a pre-digital world. If a digital native is considered someone born after 1980 then we are surely at, or approaching the point, where a majority of people working in maritime are born digital natives, resulting in an accelerated expectation and adoption of digitalization, automation and electrification. After all, for all the wonderful traditions and heritage in our industry, we must also recognize the hesitance that exists when it comes to change.
By plotting the most feasible pathway for any vessel, we aim to make decarbonization the generation-defining experience for the current and future generations of maritimers.
Maritime is electrifying.
Saara Kuusisto
Vice President, Head of Sales, Marine Systems, ABB Marine & Ports
