The Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS) and RMI (formerly Rocky Mountain Institute) are launching a system to speed adoption of sustainable shipping fuels and decarbonization of the maritime industry.
The system, a book-and-claim registry called Katalist, helps freight customers looking to reduce their emissions connect with freight carriers that operate with fewer emissions.
Book-and-claim systems operate as a kind of credit swap. Many shipping companies encounter barriers to using sustainable shipping fuels instead of fossil fuels. One barrier is that there are many types of these fuels and ships can only run on the ones they’re designed for. Another is that all the fuels, which are manufactured using renewable energy and made with materials such as captured CO2, e-methane, hydrogen or bio material from forestry and agriculture, are in short supply. And not all ports have all of them available. Transporting sustainable fuels from one place to another would cancel out the emissions reductions. The Katalist Book-and-Claim system allows a company that uses regular fossil fuels to book or purchase sustainable fuel for another shipper that can use the fuel. This increases the market for sustainable fuels and allows the company that bought the fuels or services to claim credit for the emissions reduction.
“As a result, cargo owners willing to pay a green premium for low emission maritime transport services can reliably use Katalist to achieve that goal, while ship operators using low emission fuels can use it to access a broader market of freight customers willing to pay an environmental supplement,” said Bo Cerup-Simonsen, CEO of MMMCZCS. “Moreover, the registry will help drive investments in lower-emission fuels, boosting commercial availability.”
Shipping generates 3% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Both the European Union (EU) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) have introduced regulations to reduce the carbon intensity of the marine industry. Katalist provides a way for all cargo companies to participate in industry decarbonization. It enables cargo ships to use the more expensive sustainable fuel, knowing that even if the customers they’re shipping for won’t pay the extra, another company seeking emissions credits will. Further it provides a compliance vehicle for freight customers who must also reduce emissions in their supply chains.
Katallist is a not-for-profit registry that tracks emissions data in a consistent, auditable format across multiple carriers. Katalist also sets strict criteria, ensuring every token booked on the registry corresponds to low-emission fuels used during a voyage. The Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA) members will use Katalist to facilitate the claiming of sustainable marine fuel tokens generated through ZEMBA’s first tender in 2025 and 2026.
The registry was designed in partnership with the Energy Web Foundation using experience gained from the development of a range of chain-of-custody models, including the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Registry (SAFc), and extensive knowledge of shipping decarbonization. Over 25 organizations from across the maritime value chain have also contributed to the development and testing of the system and confirm the registry as a critical enabler within the shipping decarbonization ecosystem.
“Katalist is a transformative approach to maritime shipping, providing a trusted, independent, and easy-to-use platform to freight customers committed to decarbonizing the shipping sector,” said Jon Creyts, CEO, RMI. “The platform demonstrates how a collaborative effort through the value chain can foster scalable, systemic change that favors long-term, sustainable decarbonization over temporary solutions. This joint effort is writing the future of sustainable shipping, bringing all stakeholders along.”
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