Leading Industry Companies Team to Deliver IMO Decarbonization Ambitions

ABS is a founding member of the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MCZCS), a new research center designed to support shipping’s decarbonization ambitions, which launches today.

The founding partners behind the MCZCS are ABS, A.P. Moller – Maersk, Cargill, MAN Energy Solutions, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, NYK Lines and Siemens.

The center, which will be based in Copenhagen, Denmark, is made possible by a start-up donation of DKK 400m by the A.P. Moller Foundation to contribute to achieving the ambition of zero carbon shipping.

“Through our extensive research on low carbon strategies for shipping, we understand how decarbonization is a complex riddle of vessel technologies, fuels and operational optimization. ABS is proud to contribute to the work of the MCZCS, which will undoubtedly play a significant role in solving this riddle for the industry,” said ABS Chairman, President and CEO, Christopher J. Wiernicki.

The center will be a non-profit organization, set up as a commercial foundation with a charitable purpose. As an independent research center, it will work across the entire shipping sector with industry, academia and authorities. A highly specialized cross-disciplinary team will collaborate globally to create overviews of decarbonization pathways, accelerate the development of selected decarbonizing fuels and powering technologies, as well as support the establishment of regulatory, financial and commercial means to enable and drive the transformation.

Søren Skou, Maersk CEO and a future member of the center’s board of directors, said: “The founding partners and the A.P. Moller Foundation share a long-term ambition to decarbonize the shipping industry. The establishment of the center is a quantum leap towards realizing that ambition. This joint initiative will fast-track the maturation of solutions and strengthen the basis for decision making among industry players and regulators and hence accelerate investments and implementation of new technologies. I am looking forward to join the Board of this ambitious collaboration.”

Center CEO Bo Cerup-Simonsen said: “This is the early days of a demanding and necessary transformation of an entire industry. Thanks to the A.P. Moller Foundation and the support from industry-leading partners we now have a unique opportunity to unfold the potential of a sector-wide collaboration towards complete decarbonization. The Center for Decarbonizing Shipping provides a solid platform for the entire eco-system to join forces, demonstrate new solutions and identify the next steps to make it happen. I’m excited to let the work begin, expanding the collaboration with a broad variety of contributors.”

The founding partners bring a common commitment to decarbonizing shipping as well as unique and highly specialized knowledge and research capabilities. Furthermore, the founding partners will donate funds, expert people resources and testing platforms to support the operations. The center expects to attract several more partners in the future.

During the first two to three years the center will recruit around 100 employees to the Copenhagen-based office and collaborate with new partners across the globe. The founding partners have committed one third of the needed staff, the remaining two thirds will be recruited independently. In addition to leadership and administration, the center staff will include subject matter experts in energy, fuels and ship technology as well as regulatory affairs, finance and the global energy transition.