Eight promising green corridor routes from Spain for European and global trades have been identified by a new study from the Global Maritime Forum (GMF).
The analysis showed the UK, Italy and US are the most promising partner countries for Spain for the development of green corridors, followed by Turkey, Morocco and China.
The GMF said its findings indicate that there are various opportunities in the container segment.
It highlighted the deepsea container trades between China and the ports of Barcelona and Valencia and between US east coast ports and Valencia and Algeciras.
Shortsea opportunities within Europe were also identified, such as container traffic between the ports of Bilbao and Liverpool, and between Valencia and Turkey, plus general cargo between Valencia and Italy.
Two promising cruise routes were also identified: Mediterranean cruises with Barcelona as the home port and the Atlantic Spain-UK route.
Several building blocks need to be in place to establish green corridors, the report said, including a viable fuel pathway, customer demand for green shipping, enabling policy and regulation plus cross-value chain collaboration.
The study demonstrated high levels of interest and varying degrees of activity around zero-emission fuels and their bunkering among Spanish ports.
Targeting routes with cargo owners within food and beverage, car manufacturing and textile sectors is recommended due to large volumes, high-value trade and balanced trade flows, it added.
A next step could be undertaking corridor-specific feasibility studies, the GMF said, if partners interested in pursuing opportunities can be found.
The study was built on the results of a preliminary report conducted by the GMF and the Energy Transitions Commission in collaboration with the British Embassy in Madrid.
“The identification of these green routes offers opportunities to stimulate the growth of new value chains in Spain and the UK,” said Francisco Alvarez, public policy attache at the embassy.
GMF project director Jesse Fahnestock added: “We encountered an impressive enthusiasm and deep understanding of the potential of green corridors across Spanish stakeholder groups. This is a rapid advancement from just over a year ago.”
Last week, Norway’s Yara International said it was teaming up with Spanish oil group Cepsa to launch a hydrogen shipping corridor between Algeciras and Rotterdam for the delivery of clean ammonia to industrial and maritime customers in Rotterdam and central Europe.
