With the International Maritime Organisation estimating the global shipping industry is responsible for almost three percent of world greenhouse gas emissions, Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line Group) have agreed to cooperate and tackle this challenge.
EGA, the world’s largest ‘premium aluminium’ producer and the biggest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas, and the shipping giant K Line will research and conduct pilot projects to decarbonise bulk cargo shipping.
The research will focus on the development and implementation of new decarbonisation technologies like kite systems, alternative fuels and CO2 capture, and make them suitable for EGA’s bulk cargo shipping routes in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean.
Currently, these technologies have technical and practical challenges that prevent their widespread adoption. These range from technology immaturity to lack of support infrastructure.
K Line Group transports nearly five million tonnes of bauxite per annum from the Republic of Guinea and approximately 1.5 million tonnes of alumina each year from Australia, to the UAE.
The Japanese company will lead the research into decarbonisation opportunities, while EGA will target pilot projects on its K Line shipping routes.
Abdulnasser bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of EGA, said: “Economy-wide decarbonisation will require cooperation between industries, and we are pleased to work with K Line Group on this important global challenge.
“Our long-term relationship with K Line Group provides an ideal platform to develop and test ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping. For EGA, our goal is to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions not just from our own operations but also from activities in our supply chain. Improving the fuel efficiency of shipping could also reduce our shipping costs.”
Yukikazu MYOCHIN, President and CEO of K Line, added: “Decarbonisation is an essential challenge for the shipping industry to meet the expectations of our customers and global society. This cooperation with EGA will enable us to jointly make progress towards net zero for both our companies. It will also enable us to pioneer new approaches for the whole shipping industry.”
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