Energy player Total has added its support for decarbonisation in the maritime sector by joining the Getting to Zero Coalition, which has members from the finance, energy, maritime, and infrastructure sectors.
The coalition aims to realise the International Maritime Organisation’s goal of halving greenhouse emissions in the shipping industry by 2050, using 2008 levels as the baseline. The coalition’s aim is to develop zero-emission fuels and ocean-faring, emission-free ships that are still commercially viable, with the first vessels operating by 2030.
Total’s contribution to the coalition will be its expertise in developing efficient fuels and lubricant products for marine use, as well as other technologies that may contribute to realising zero-emission vessels.
Total’s CEO and president, Patrick Pouyanné, emphasised that the company was already in the process of creating cleaner fuels for the maritime sector and pointed out that it shared the goal of making its own operations’ emissions net zero by 2050. He added:
“By joining the Getting to Zero Coalition, we want to push innovation and foster collective actions with all the stakeholders of the industry, thus contributing more efficiently to the reduction of the carbon footprint of maritime transport and its energy value chains.”
Total is already engaged in reducing emissions in the shipping industry, such as by developing biofuel and battery technology. It also recently chartered two very large crude carriers (VLCCs) with LNG-fuelled engines. LNG (liquefied natural gas) involves substantially lower emissions than diesel, which is why Total is developing its marine supply infrastructure for LNG.