Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas, and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd., known as “K” Line Group, one of the world’s largest shipping groups, have signed an agreement to cooperate on research and pilot projects to decarbonize bulk cargo shipping.
The cooperation is expected to focus on the development and implementation of new marine decarbonization technologies suitable for EGA’s bulk cargo shipping routes in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean.
Solutions are likely to include kite systems, alternative fuels and CO2 capture technologies. All these technologies have technical and practical challenges to widespread adoption that remain to be overcome, ranging from technology immaturity to lack of support infrastructure.
“K” Line Group will lead research into decarbonization opportunities, and EGA will target pilot projects on its “K” Line shipping routes.
“K” Line Group transports some 5 million tons of EGA’s bauxite per annum from Guinea to the UAE and some 1.5 million tons of alumina each year from Australia to the UAE, under long-term contracts of affreightment.
The global shipping industry is responsible for almost 3 percent of world greenhouse gas emissions, according to the International Maritime Organization. Shipping accounts for a proportion of the emissions generated in EGA’s supply chain, known as scope 3 emissions.
Abdulnasser bin Kalban, chief executive of EGA, said: “Economy-wide decarbonization 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, said: “Decarbonization is an essential challenge for the shipping industry to meet the expectations of our customers and global society. This cooperation with EGA, which has been one of our most important customers for decades, will enable us to jointly make progress toward net-zero for both our companies. It will also enable us to pioneer new approaches for the shipping industry as a whole.”
