New tool helps to identify best ports for early movers on transitional energy investments

The Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub, and the Environmental Defense Fund, along with Arup consultants, have unveiled the Sustainable First Movers Initiative Identification Tool to help stakeholders in aligning investments with the maritime industry’s energy transition.

The new tool assesses the potential of a port to produce and bunker electro-fuels, while considering environmental and community benefits aligned with the Paris Agreement's goal to limit Earth’s warming to 1.5° Celsius globally.

With the preliminary findings presented in The Potential of Ports in Developing Sustainable First Movers Initiatives report, the tool’s initial phase evaluated 108 ports in the Indo-Pacific region based on criteria such as land suitability, air quality, renewable energy surplus, economic resilience, and ship traffic.

The tool is used for three different port scenarios: for those considering fuel production and bunkering, those exploring fuel exports, and those exploring fuel imports and bunkering. By considering both the criteria and scenario evaluations, the tool identifies ports with the highest potential for sustainable first mover initiatives. These initiatives are expected to result in substantial reductions in emissions as well as positive effects on nearby communities, including enhanced air quality and economic resilience.

“Ports can play an important role in kickstarting shipping’s decarbonization process even before global policies are established,” says Marie Cabbia Hubatova, the director of Global Shipping at the Environmental Defense Fund. “By considering the impact sustainable first mover initiatives can have on port-side communities, climate, environment and economies, resources can be better directed to locations where these initiatives will make the biggest difference.”

The tool aims to guide early adopter initiatives toward ports with the greatest potential for positive impacts, fostering collaboration and inclusive decarbonization in the shipping industry.

Lloyd’s Register and the Environmental Defense Fund collaborated on a study examining ammonia as a shipping fuel, while Lloyd’s Register partnered with Arup for The Resilience Shift study, which focused on fuel demand for early adopters in green corridors, ports, and energy systems, along with various other projects.