Inmarsat takes active role in decarbonising shipping

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The company became one of the founding members of Asia’s first 'Decarbonising Shipping' initiative, aimed at bringing start-ups together with backers with maritime expertise in order to help the industry meet the targets on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Base in Singapore, the regional initiative is part of the Trade & Transport Impact (TTI) programme, led by Rainmaking. Inmarsat joined the first two cycles of TTI, held in Europe in 2019, which scouted over 1.2k start-ups and led to 24 collaboration projects.

Backed by the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore, the new initiative is expected to identify further 1k projects offering models to tackle decarbonisation, with selected start-ups to be matched with maritime industry leaders willing to collaborate. Other confirmed partners include Cargill, DNV GL, Hafnia, MC Shipping Inc., Vale and Wilhelmsen.

Ronald Spithout, President, Inmarsat Maritime, said, "Shipping and its customers are demanding solutions and technology to address the decarbonisation targets set by regulators and this is where startups and market disruptors come in."

According to Inmarsat's recent report on how startups contribute to driving maritime trade, the value of Ship Technology (ShipTech) will rise from $106bn to US$278bn by 2030. Companies offering solutions helping to monitor and cut emissions will take up a significant chunk of the market.

Inmarsat also supports start-ups via its Certified Application Provider (CAP) programme. It allows the selected companies to accelerate the scale-up of their application through extended outreach and removing the need for their own solution-specific hardware.

Over 20 providers are now part of CAP, including ABB, NAPA, Hyundai Global Serives and Nautilus Labs.