Millions set aside to make shipping more green

Fourteen research projects to reduce emissions by 80 percent

Nov 21, 2014

The government has announced it intends to make its shipping industry more climate-friendly.

It will be taking measures in co-operation with several universities and maritime advocacy organisation Det Blå Danmark as part of a multi-party partnership called Blue INNOship.

Some 117 million kroner has been set aside for 14 research projects over the next four years. The funding includes a 50 million kroner grant from the Research Ministry's innovation fund, Innovationsfonden.

“As one of the world's leading maritime nations, we have a responsibility to ensure that shipping reduces its damaging and climate-detrimental emissions,” Sofie Carsten Nielsen, the education and research minister, told Politiken newspaper.

80 percent reductions
Nielsen went on to say she expected the efforts to yield CO2, sulphur oxide and nitrogen oxide emission reductions of 80 percent.

The 14 projects are all tackling different issues in the area of emission reduction. Issues range from the simple – hull fins to improve the in-flow to the propellers – to the more complex: such as reducing the amount of methane being released by ship engines using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel.

The list of participating companies and institutions in Blue INNOship includes Alfa Laval, Maersk, Hempel, MAN Diesel & Turbo, OSK-ShipTech, Torm, Aalborg University, Copenhagen Business School and the Technical University of Denmark.