Accelerating to Net Zero, a strategic dialogue series
Accelerating to Net Zero brings together leaders across maritime, energy, and industry to examine the challenges of the maritime energy transition and how cross-sector collaboration can unlock e-fuel markets, break the fuel deadlock, and strengthen energy security in the transition to net zero.
Episode 4: Daniel Bischofberger, CEO, Accelleron
Global trade is growing, and more goods are being shipped around the world. At the same time, shipping has to decarbonize. How does shipping manage both?
Shipping manages this by using existing energy saving technologies to increase efficiency by up to 30% across the global fleet in the short-term, reducing both cost and emissions, while pursuing IMO regulation that drives the transition to carbon-neutral fuels and deeper decarbonization to reach net zero.
“Shipping is one of those industries that are hard to decarbonize. It cannot be decarbonized by going electric, it just doesn’t work. Those ships need a huge amount of energy. Short-term it’s all about efficiency improvement, and the good thing is the technology is here, we just have to implement it.
“The long-term solution is clear, we have to go to synthetic fuel. That means we stay with combustion engines but use green hydrogen-based fuels. And what is driving this is IMO, which has committed to net zero by 2050 and is putting regulation into place.”
Where does the technology stand today for these new fuels?
Dual-fuel ships are being built ready for fuels like methanol and ammonia, but fuel production and infrastructure are not yet in place at scale. So, these ships are still running on conventional fuels, or transitional fuels like LNG.
“The great thing is the technology is already here. The ships are here and ready, they’re just waiting for the fuel, which is not ready yet. In shipping, these synthetic fuels will most likely be methanol and ammonia.
“There are already ships capable of running on methanol, and the first ships running on ammonia will soon be released. The challenge really is to scale production and make those fuels available.”
We are talking about a transition to much more expensive carbon-neutral fuels. How do you see the cost development of these fuels?
Carbon-neutral fuels are significantly more expensive today, but costs are expected to come down with scale. Efficiency will become even more critical, given that fuel is a large share of the lifecycle cost of a ship, and the supply of these fuels will be limited for a long time.
“Biofuels are already two to three times more expensive today, and synthetic fuels are between five to ten times more. But with industrialization and scaling, those costs will come down probably to two to three times. About 50% of the life cycle cost of a ship is fuel, so it’s not a negligible number.
“The new fuels are very expensive, so we have to make sure to reduce the cost of using those fuels. In addition, it will be a challenge to get huge amounts of those fuels, so we also have to reduce the usage. The density of these fuels is lower, so you need bigger tanks.
“And we have to be careful when we compare costs. It has to be apples to apples, because fossil fuels today do not include the cost of CO₂, while synthetic fuels do not have these emissions.”
Are you confident that these fuels will be available in time to reach net zero by 2050?
Fuel availability is the central risk, because scaling green hydrogen and e-fuels requires massive upfront investment, long-term demand visibility, and coordinated development of production, transport, and port infrastructure across sectors.
“The fuel availability will definitely be the biggest challenge in decarbonization. What we see is a fuel deadlock. Producers are waiting for long-term commitments because there is a huge investment needed to build those plants. Shipowners want secure and competitive supply before committing. And ports are waiting for both before investing in infrastructure.
“But shipping alone is not big enough to build this system. The good thing is that shipping is not the only sector that needs hydrogen. Other sectors like aviation, steel, chemicals, agriculture, and power also need hydrogen. If they aggregate the demand, then the investment can be justified, and that is what can unlock the scale needed. We are talking about around 600 million tons of hydrogen and about 9 trillion dollars of investment.”
You operate globally. How do you see differences between regions in approaching shipping decarbonization?
Regions are advancing the energy transition at different speeds, with Europe leading on regulation and carbon pricing, while countries in Asia Pacific and Australia are moving ahead on hydrogen production, infrastructure, and port readiness, but global alignment and consistent rules are still needed to avoid fragmentation and accelerate progress.
“You definitely see regional differences. The lead is with Europe, also because shipping is now part of the EU emissions trading system. But in Australia or China you see hydrogen production and infrastructure being built, and ports moving forward with bunkering and green corridors. So, a lot of things are going on, that’s really positive, but a little bit more speed would be great.
Shipping is the only sector that is regulated globally. We have to make sure we apply the same rules [everywhere].”
You speak to stakeholders across shipping, energy, and industry. What do you say to them about how to move forward and break the fuel deadlock?
Breaking the deadlock requires immediate action, implementation of efficiency technologies, and cross-sector collaboration to scale green hydrogen and e-fuels.
“There is a lot of technology available to reduce emissions today, but we also need to invest now for the future to make those fuels available, and that requires collaboration between sectors.”
“The current generation must take ownership of emissions and act now rather than delaying the transition.
“I think it’s not the right thing just to pass on this CO2 bill to the next generation. Let’s take ownership and accountability and start also paying our CO2 bill. We need to act now, waiting is not an option.”
Download the full Accelerating to net zero reports here: https://accelleron.com/about/accelerating-to-net-zero