Northern European & Baltic Green Corridor Prefeasibility Study
Executive Summary
The European Green Corridor Network including Port of Gdynia, the Port of Roenne, the Port of Rotterdam, the Hamburg Port Authority, and the Port of Tallinn in partnership with the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping have jointly performed a pre-feasibility study to determine opportunities for green shipping corridors in the greater Baltic Sea region, which can drive the initial decarbonization of the maritime industry in the region by mid-decade.
The study has a holistic value-chain approach and based on the current regional maritime activity, vessels, and voyage patterns, subsequently addresses alternative fuel production, and supply, port readiness to cater vessels operating on alternative fuels, and the outlook on cost of emissions reduction and cost to end-customers.
The project concludes that advantageous starting points for green corridors in the region could be ferry lines, passenger and vehicle carriers in line operation while ports servicing these segments in combination with container feeder operation could be good starting point to build an infrastructure for supply of alternative fuels for shipping. Ferry lines, passenger and vehicle carriers in line operation can ensure a baseline demand of alternative fuel, while the feeder operation can support it scaling.
Alternative fuel supply is unique for the region, since the outlook shows that all considered fuels will be produced within the region and the region is in the forefront of establishing such production facilities, which can support the early adaption by the maritime sector in the region and thereby its decarbonization.
Ultimately, the project outlines recommendation to all stakeholders playing a role in progressing green corridors, and particularly the emphasis on the holistic value-chain approach is shown critical at an incubation workshop, i.e., to bring together and mobilize committed first movers from all parts of the value-chain to jointly settle coherent value-chains for a dedicated green corridor - an activity which can be catalyzed by ports.