The North Sea Summit is focusing on all the right issues: supply chains, com­pe­ti­ti­ve­ness, financing, fewer regulatory barriers, offshore wind and hydrogen for, among other things, green fuels. Now, more political action is needed to unlock the vast offshore wind potential in the North Sea, according to Danish Shipping.

Ministers from the North Sea countries, the EU’s Energy Commissioner, and a range of market participants are meeting today at the Port of Odense to discuss how to realise the North Sea’s potential for renewable energy.

And the potential is vast. The North Sea can become a central hub for expanding renewable energy in Europe through offshore wind. Renewable energy that, among other things, will be used to produce the green fuels that the shipping industry and others are calling for.

“There can be no doubt that the North Sea Summit is focusing on all the most important issues. To realise the enormous offshore wind potential of the North Sea, we need to promote financing and remove bureaucratic obstacles. Otherwise, we risk Europe falling behind China, the US, and other rapidly advancing countries. This is obviously bad for European com­pe­ti­ti­ve­ness, but also for energy security and the green transition in Europe,” says Jacob K. Clasen, Deputy CEO of Danish Shipping, who is attending the North Sea Summit.

To realise the enormous offshore wind potential of the North Sea, we need to promote financing and remove bureaucratic obstacles.

Jacob K. Clasen, Deputy CEO of Danish Shipping

The timing of the North Sea Summit couldn’t be more appropriate in light of developments in Denmark, where a number of PtX (Power-to-X) projects have been dropped in recent months.

“Upscaling of production of green fuels through PtX is moving far too slowly. Political action and public investment in green fuel production is required in order to scale up much faster than it is today, if we are to successfully achieve a green transition, including for the shipping industry,” says Jacob K. Clasen.

“In addition to the lack of availability of green fuels, the price of green and more climate-friendly fuels is far too high compared to traditional fossil fuels. We need to close the price gap between green and black, or we won’t reach our ambitious climate goals,” says Jacob K. Clasen.