Germany’s shipbuilding and offshore supply industry key for maritime energy transition - VDMA

Germany’s shipbuilding and offshore supply industry is an "enabler" of the maritime energy transition, said the German Engineering Federation’s (VDMA) Marine Equipment and Systems division. Germany’s maritime suppliers are working with research institutes and government leaders to transition the country’s shipping industry to CO2-neutral fuels. “CO2-neutral fuels and propulsion systems are the key to the maritime energy transition,” it adds. The sector is looking into long-term solutions for intercontinental goods transport, such as green hydrogen and power-to-X energy carrier technologies, which use renewable energy to produce hydrogen through the electrolysis of water. The association points out, however, that “even according to positive scenarios, they will not be sufficiently available on the necessary industrial scale until the early 2030s”. The path to achieving long-term, climate-neutral ship transport will be via liquid natural gas (LNG) and other intermediate products, it adds. VDMA also sees good opportunities for the German supply industry when it comes to installation and service vessels for offshore windparks across the globe.

The German shipbuilding and offshore supply industry recorded a 4.9 percent drop in sales to 10.5 billion euros last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Orders fell by as much as 10.9 percent. But the further outlook for 2022 is very positive with rising incoming orders in 2021, VDMA said.