Three year research project on energy-efficiency in the shipping industry completed
Foto: Martin Jensen, Handelsflådens Velfærdsråds Fotokonkurrence, 2013
The recently completed three-year research project on the subject of energy-efficiency in the shipping industry has been financed by The Danish Maritime Fund and undertaken by associate professor René Taudal Poulsen, Department of Innovation and Organizational Economics.
Identifying the Potential
According to René Taudal Poulsen, the overarching aim of the study has been to analyze and identify fuel-saving potential in the shipping industry. He goes on to explain the starting point of his research:
“Despite a considerable rise in marine fuel prices after 2004, previous research has argued that cost-effective energy-efficiency measures are not fully implemented in the shipping industry. These studies, however, have failed to fully explain the causes for non-implementation of such measures.”
Based on 65 in-depth interviews with shipping industry top and middle managers, the study has confirmed the existence of a cost-effective fuel-saving potential and examined the causes for it.
“Even though several energy-efficiency measures were implemented by some shipping companies in response to rising energy prices in 2004 up until 2014, the full potential for fuel-saving has not yet been realized. Some shipping companies are clearly better at achieving fuel-savings than others. The study has identified best practice energy management, which often differs considerably from common industry practices,” explains René Taudal Poulsen.
Relevance of the Study
The study provides recommendations to shipping companies on how to enhance energy-efficiency and reduce energy costs. It also explains why shipping companies should continue to focus on fuel-saving initiatives despite a dramatic drop in marine fuel prices in the latter half of 2014. Fuel-saving initiatives provide a means to protect their businesses against a potential future rise in the inherently volatile fuel prices. In addition, stakeholders along the maritime supply chain are increasingly concerned with air emissions from shipping, and fuel-saving initiatives are a means to also address these concerns.
In his own words, René Taudal Poulsen places the study at the intersection of innovation, and environmental, and maritime economics. He also explains the relevance of business school research in topics related to the maritime world:
“The study makes a contribution to innovation studies as well as to environmental and maritime economics. It explains why some shipping companies are better at achieving fuel-savings than others, and it brings forward new insights into the causes for the non-implementation of cost-effective fuel-saving measures. As such, the study demonstrates how business school research can contribute to solving real-life problems in the shipping industry while at the same time furthering several streams of academic research,” says René Taudal Poulsen.
For the report on CBS Maritime research project on energy-efficiency in the shipping industry, please visit the Danish Maritime Fund website.