Sustainable Maritime Fuels

Clean fuels for trade, travel, commerce, and job creation

 

The Sustainable Maritime Fuels Collaborative brings together supply and demand stakeholders to accelerate production and use of sustainable maritime fuels and technologies in Washington.

The Value

Washington’s maritime industry must rapidly shift to new low and zero carbon fuels to remain globally competitive, confront climate change, and advance environmental justice. New international targets on shipping emissions, increasing customer expectations, and improving the health of our communities are key drivers. Our state’s history of leadership in clean energy and technology, research and development and maritime innovation affords a unique capacity for economic development.

The Need

  • The Pacific Northwest is a maritime fueling hub for a range of vessel types essential to trade, tourism, and commerce.
  • Washington’s maritime industry generates over $45.9 billion in total revenue, supports 174,300 jobs and $14.4 billion in labor income.
  • In 2019, international bunker fuels sold in Washington resulted in approximately 6.8 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, an amount equivalent to 16% of total Washington transportation sector emissions.
  • In 2019, an estimated 538 million gallons of maritime fuels were supplied in Washington.
  • Pollution from fossil maritime fuels like diesel, heavy fuel oil, and marine gas oil is concentrated around ports and contributes to health disparities in near-port communities which rank among the highest in diesel pollution and disproportionate impact by the Department of Health’s Environmental Health Disparities Map

To learn more, please contact cassidy@maritimeblue.org

Early Activities

 

September 2023

Non-profit Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), with funding from Breakthrough Energy, in collaboration with founding partners and the Washington State Department of Commerce launched a Sustainable Marine Fuels Roadmap study to assess the maritime fuels landscape and pathways for zero emissions fuel supply in the Pacific Northwest.

October 2023

Washington Maritime Blue, the Port of Seattle, and the Pacific Northwest National Lab led an “author’s convening” bringing together national labs, Washington Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Maersk McKinney Moeller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, RMI, the Northwest Seaport Alliance, and other experts to share and coordinate maritime decarbonization studies underway in the Pacific Northwest.

October 2023

The PNW Hydrogen Association (PNWH2) Hub was awarded a DOE Hydrogen Hub award to develop and bring to market clean hydrogen power solutions. H2 is a key input for maritime fuel and a fuel for port infrastructure, so large-scale H2 production along with the adoption of new technologies is crucial to reach decarbonization goals. 

December 2023 - June 2024

Sustainable Marine Fuels Roadmap study partners convened two workshops with over 90 representatives from maritime, fuel, technology, environmental, research, state and federal agencies, and others to provide input into the fuel pathway study, related supply constraints, proposed policy recommendations

August 2024

RMI‘s Advancing Zero-Emission Fuels in Washington’s Shipping Sector Roadmap was published. The study provides a regionally focused roadmap for decarbonizing Washington State’s shipping sector, offering insights for policymakers, industry leaders, and other stakeholders. The study identifies demand-side pathways for deploying Zero Emissions Fuels (ZEFs) by 2030 and for fully decarbonizing maritime fuels at Washington ports by 2050. It then assesses the feasibility of hydrogen and biofuel-based ZEFs through techno-economic analysis, focusing on emissions, cost, scalability, and technology. Finally, it analyzes policy options to support ZEF production and use.