In its newly-published 2024 UK Energy Transition Outlook (ETO) – which includes an overview of the maritime energy mix – DNV has urged the UK Government to ‘prioritise long-term policy clarity and consistency to create an investable marketplace for energy transition financiers to accelerate the move away from fossil fuels’.
DNV warned that ‘progress to net zero now seems to be stalling’ and ‘without swift action the UK is currently on course to miss its 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target and its legally binding mid-century decarbonisation target’.
‘Even with the massive scaling of renewables,’ said DNV, ‘the UK remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels for at least the next decade and beyond, only reducing to 70% by 2031 - necessitating the acceleration of decarbonisation efforts for example carbon capture or use of hydrogen.’
The report included a summary of the energy needs of the maritime sector, which it said represented 12% of UK transport energy demand in 2022.
‘Maritime energy demand is expected to peak by 2030 (at 10% above today’s level) and decline slowly afterwards due to energy efficiency improvements,’ said the report. ‘By 2050, we expect UK maritime energy demand to be 15% less than today.’
The report highlighted how technologies such as wind-assisted propulsion, electrification and electric shore power have contributed to energy efficiency in the maritime sector and also noted: ‘The introduction of new fuels has already started, with the use of biofuels and natural gas. Use of electricity and e-fuels will start growing in the mid-2020s, with ammonia starting to be adopted by 2030. The maritime energy mix will be a lot more varied by 2050 and consist of 36% ammonia, 25% bioenergy, 19% synthetic e-fuels, and the remaining share made up of oil, natural gas, and electricity.’
Click here to download DNV’s 2024 UK Energy Transition Outlook (ETO).
