Shipbuilding group Vard has joined 12 research institutes and over 50 industrial partners in establishing a new research centre for renewable energy to speed up the green transition in the maritime sector.
The centre, FME Maritime Energy Transition (MarTrans), has been awarded NOK 120m – 180m every year over eight years from the Research Council of Norway. Accelerating the green transition of the maritime sector, reducing energy consumption, and replacing fossil fuels with renewable fuels is not considered an easy task, so the new FME MarTrans will help accelerate the development.
FME MarTrans is an eight-year collaborative project with 65 partners from the maritime industry and research environment. The focus is research, innovation, and education to accelerate the green transition in maritime shipping, while increasing value creation and exports for the Norwegian maritime industry. Vard’s role in FME MarTrans is to contribute with financial support and resources in various projects. The research centre also serves as a ‘birth unit’ for new collaborative projects between the partners.
Håvard Vollset Lien, Vard VP Research and Innovation said: “This will be an important arena for networking, cross-border collaboration, and an arena to add relevance to the research work.”
With total funding from the Research Council of Norway and the industrial partners of more than NOK 300 million, this will be the world’s largest maritime research programme of its kind.
Trond Vikan Johnsen, Centre Director, Sintef Ocean, said: “The maritime community is well underway with the green transition. Over the past decade, local pollution has been greatly reduced and major cuts have been made in greenhouse gas emissions per goods transported, but with an ever-increasing need for transport and an ambition of zero emissions in 2050, we still have major challenges ahead of us.”
As many as 18 shipping companies with a total of around 450 ships in operation are participating in the centre. Norway has the world’s fifth largest fleet of ships and therefore has a good opportunity to make a difference in global emissions from the sector. The initiative for FME MarTrans comes from Sintef Ocean and is based on the previous SFI Smart Maritime project that Vard participated in 2015-2023.
The maritime sector currently accounts for 9% of Norway’s total GHG emissions and 12% of global GHG emissions from the transport sector. In order to cut emissions in maritime transport, there are four main challenges:
- Environmentally friendly fuel is expensive, and access scarce. Thus, consumption must be drastically reduced through energy optimisation.
- To use the new energy carriers safely and efficiently, the energy systems on board must be further developed.
- Making green fuels available requires the development of supply chains and new port infrastructure.
- A sustainable transition requires that new technologies are supported with knowledge and development of business models, environmental impact, regulations, and energy system integration.
Johnsen said: “FME MarTrans will organise much of its research activities and educational pathways around these areas, but will also drive innovation and piloting through company-controlled demo projects.”
The work will start later in 2024 and finish in 2032. The partners are: From research institutions: Sintef Ocean, Sintef Energy, Sintef Industry, Sintef Ålesund, NTNU, NHH, UiT, Chalmers (SE), DTU (DK), VTT (FI), IIASA (AUT), NTUA (GRE); Industry and public partners: Amon Maritime, AQS, Bergen Engines, Brunvoll, Corvus, DNV, Eitzen Rederi, Elinett, Fjord Base, Fjuel, Frøy, Gard, Gasnor, GC Rieber Shipping, Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, Glocal green, GreenH, Grieg Star, HAV Group, Havila Shipping, Hydrogenious LOHC Maritime, Hyds, Höegh Autoliners, Island Offshore, Jotun, K.G. Jebsen Skipsrederi, Klaveness, Kongsberg, Kristiansand Havn, Miljødirektoratet, Moen Marin, Marine and Port Authorities of Singapore, Narvik Havn, Navtor, North Sea Container Line, Norske Havner, Oslo Havn, Plug, Rederiforbundet, SFL Corp, Sirius Design & Integration, Sjøfartsdirektoratet, Skarv Shipping Solutions, Solvang, Teco2030, Trondheim Havn, Trøndelag fylkeskommune, Ulmatec Pyro, Ulstein, Utkilen, Vard Group, Yara Marine, Østensjø Rederi.
Image: From left, Håvard Vollset Lien, VP R&I, VARD Group, Terje Aasland, Minister of Energy, Trond Johnsen, Centre Director, SINTEF, Sverre Rye Torben, Director R&I, Kongsberg Maritime, Mari Sundli Tveit, CEO Research Council of Norway (source: Vard)
