Maritime Movements - The Path to Sustainabilty

Shipping knows it contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and has been discussing ways to reduce them for decades.

Wilhelmsen Group have made massive inroads into sustainable shipping and shipbuilding and many more new challenges and opportunities are opening up in the race to meet the 2050 net zero emissions target deadline.

Fremantle Ports has got the ball rolling for Western Australia with a five year plan to establish renewable shipping solutions for our ports and harbours.

Chief Executive Officer, Michael Parker, discussed energy transition across assets, operations and supply chain at the Permanent International Association Navigation Congress meeting in Fremantle this week. PIANC is the world association for waterborne transport and infrastructure and was established in Brussels in 1885. They are expert in guidance, recommendations and technical advice.

Mr Parker emphasised the challenge to go harder and faster and said the Port and its collaborators are doing things differently.

“If we are going to be the safest, most efficient and sustainable port for WA, with a high-performing supply chain, we have to be bold in setting a clear direction over the next five years,” he said.

It’s an aspirational challenge the CEO is very excited about as Fremantle Port sets itself to become a leading enabler of a robust supply chain ahead of the global shipping game with solar farms, hydrogen refuelling stations, network refuellers, an electrolyser in Gin Gin and refuelling stations at the Neerabup Industrial Area, Perth Airport, Fremantle Port, Hazlemere and Kwinana BGC.

Converting the existing gas pipeline to hydrogen is being discussed and businesses along the coast, new and existing, are encouraged to establish refuelling stations and adapt to the change.

Sunrise Energy Group is an emerging renewable energy company based in Perth. They manage large-scale solar assets which have the capacity to reduce industrial energy costs, think mining, by 25 per cent. They are aligned with Fremantle Ports in this transition to produce green hydrogen from their solar resources.

Managing Director Neil Canby has bought into what he calls the “hydrogen hype” and quantifies green hydrogen’s sustainability based on 10 kilograms of hydrogen being equivalent to 333KWh compared to 1.7KWh of energy from batteries. He said hydrogen also displaces 60 litres of diesel.

No one is expecting zero emissions by 2027 but there is no time like the present to start on that path. We look forward to following this progress and measuring its success in five years.

* By PA Sinclair, our Shipping Correspondent. For more Shipping Movements and articles by our Shipping Correspondent look here.

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