Hapag-Lloyd Commits $10M to Decarbonization Fund

Ocean carrier Hapag-Lloyd has committed $10 million in funding to the Global Center for Maritime Decarbonization (GCMD) as part of its efforts to accelerate the development of low and zero-carbon fuels and technologies.  

Hapag-Lloyd and GCMD agreed to cooperate on efforts contributing to maritime decarbonization, with specific focus on the amplification of impact of solutions and accelerating the deployment and adoption of new technologies.

“With strong commitment and ambition, the participation of Hapag-Lloyd as a strategic partner will allow both organizations to share knowledge, build on existing initiatives and provide additional resources for pilots and trials,” said Professor Lynn Loo, GCMD CEO.

He added that shipping is a hard-to-abate sector that requires collaboration across the value chain to reach the International Maritime Organization (IMO) climate change goals.

The Singapore-based GCMD has a mission to help the industry reduce its carbon emissions as quickly as possible by shaping standards, deploying solutions, financing projects and fostering collaboration across sectors.

Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth-largest container shipping company by volume, recently announced it is intensifying efforts to reduce its fleet emission by 30 percent by 2030 and aims to be climate-neutral by 2045. With a fleet of 257 container ships and a capacity of 1.8 million TEU, Hapag-Lloyd currently commands seven percent of global boxship capacity.

Its donation to GCMD is roughly equal to 0.08 percent of earnings for 2021. The company brought in an "extraordinary" EBITDA of $12.8 billion last year due to record-high freight rates.