Even though the vast majority of these ships still use heavy oils and diesel, causing emission levels, which lie far above the regulations for road traffic, shipping only recently came into the spotlight as polluters. In addition to that, freight transport by ship is expected to triple until 2050. One of the reason for shipping’s resilience to environmental sanctions is its internationality.

In order to change this and reach the emission reductions set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Large Engines Competence Center (LEC) and the Graz University of Technology lead the HyMethShip project, which has received 9,2 Million Euros in funding from the European Union. Andreas Wimmer, the CEO of the LEC, explains the decision to make the landlocked country of Austria the coordinator of a marine research project: “We implement technologies, which  have so far never been used in shipping. These have the potential to eliminate sulphur and CO2 emissions in the marine sector almost completely.”

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