The maritime industry is the backbone of international trade and the global economy.
This isn’t surprising when looking at the statistics. About 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is water-covered, with the oceans holding about 96.5 percent of all of Earth’s water.
Our global economy relies on the maritime industry to import and export goods from one country to the next. Last year, the UN found that over 80 percent of the volume of international trade in goods is carried by sea, and the percentage is even higher for most developing countries.
It’s a double-edged sword. We rely on the maritime industry to keep things moving. To support the ever-growing demand for goods, the naval industry uses more than 300 million tons of fossil fuels annually, causing air pollution and harming the oceans.
The detrimental impact of one prominent industry emitting 300 million tons of fossil fuels into the air doesn’t stop there. New studies are finding that ocean pollution is a serious threat to human health.
Why?
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) found that almost 40% of all cargo ships are powered by oil, coal, and gas.
Coal combustion is the primary source of mercury pollution in the oceans. When coal is burned, mercury enters the atmosphere and eventually washes down into the oceans. If a pregnant woman eats fish contaminated with mercury, she could unknowingly cause harm to her unborn child’s developing brain. Adults increase their risk for heart disease or dementia by consuming fish with high levels of mercury.
We’re not only harming the planet’s ecosystem by allowing this industry to emit millions of fossil fuels into our atmosphere — we’re also hurting ourselves.
How can we power the maritime industry without harming the environment or ourselves?
The Maritime Industry’s New Goal
The first major hurdle is out of the way: the maritime industry already recognizes the need to shift away from powering their ships with coal, gas, and oil.
In 2018, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), an international agency responsible for regulating shipping, set a goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% by the year 2050.
It isn’t just cargo ships beginning to shift toward a more eco-friendly approach. Marine facilities, boat maintenance companies, and boat manufacturers are also looking for alternative power options.
How can the maritime industry meet its new goal of cutting greenhouse gases while still utilizing reliable power sources? The answer is renewable energy.
“Renewable Energy Can Power the Maritime Industry”
At MayMaan, we’ve invented clean running engines and generators that work with 70% water and 30% ethanol. They require no gas, diesel, or other polluting fuels to function. Our engines and generators provide a clean, renewable source of energy that will help power the maritime industry by operating as a primary or backup power source.
Ethanol is widely available throughout the world and is considered a carbon neutral fuel. The water part of the mixture can be sourced from desalinated seawater. The maritime industry has access to this type of water on a large scale.
Recently, MayMaan was one of the 14 companies selected to participate in the 2022 PortXL acceleration program. The mission of PortXL is to accelerate innovative technologies for the green energy, maritime, logistics, and process industries in port regions worldwide. Port XL recognizes that MayMaan’s generators can support the maritime industry with renewable energy — working toward the IMO’s goal of cutting greenhouse gases in half, providing reliable power, and supporting the backbone of global trade.