A coalition of shipping and aviation interests is being set up to seek to prioritise the availability of green hydrogen and the provision of direct air capture (DAC) technologies for the industries.
The Skies and Seas Hydrogen-fuels Accelerator (Sasha) coalition aims to bring together leaders from across shipping and aviation to send a clear signal that green hydrogen and DAC are integral to their decarbonisation.
Limited supplies should be targeted towards the industries as they do not have faster, more efficient routes to decarbonise, said organiser NGO Opportunity Green of the coalition’s aims being funded by the European Climate Foundation.
Currently, EU and UK policy does not do enough to ensure the supply of green hydrogen and DAC will be available for aviation and shipping, it added.
The coalition will be launched on 24 May by Lord Deben, chair of the UK’s independent Committee on Climate Change, at a conference that will present research from UK engineering group Arup showing the best way to decarbonise shipping and aviation is to produce sustainable fuels using green hydrogen and carbon dioxide from DAC.
Regulations such as the UK’s Net Zero Strategy and European Union’s REPowerEU policy encourage their use in sectors that do not require them and are likely to delay action to tackle the climate crisis if shipping and aviation struggle to access them.
The Sasha coalition said it will address this gap in policy coherence to put the case that the use of green hydrogen and DAC should be prioritised where it is needed most.
Opportunity Green chief executive and director of the Sasha coalition, Aoife O’Leary said: “Individual airlines and shipping companies are calling for green hydrogen in their sectors, but their voices are not loud enough on their own.
“These industries need to form one powerful, unified voice on this issue, so they have greater influence over policy.”
Achieving a transition to a net zero future in aviation and shipping is an ambitious goal but is possible with the right collaboration between industry leaders and decision makers, she added.
Sally Prickett, director of hydrogen, CCUS and new fuels in Arup’s advisory team said a secure supply of green hydrogen is going to be crucial to produce sustainable aviation and shipping fuels.
“It is important for shipping and aviation companies to be clear about the share they need, and we’re pleased to support the Sasha coalition in providing the necessary research and data to develop their case.”
In 2018 international aviation accounted for at least 3.5% of global anthropogenic climate warming while shipping emitted around 3% of greenhouse gases, but the sectors’ climate impact could grow significantly if action is not taken – with shipping potentially rising to up to 13% of global emissions by 2050 and aviation 22% if unmitigated, Opportunity Green said.
Luisa Puccio, director of shipping and trade policy at the European Community Shipowners’ Association and Laurent Donceel, managing director Airlines for Europe are also taking part in the webinar, Fuelling the Future: how green hydrogen and direct air capture will decarbonise aviation and shipping on 24 May.
