BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 22. Equinor and the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) have agreed a five-year partnership to accelerate the deployment of alternative marine fuels and other technologies aimed at cutting emissions from shipping, GCMD said.
The partnership will combine GCMD's experience in conducting real-world maritime trials with Equinor's position as a vessel charterer, energy provider and developer of lower-carbon solutions.
The organisations will focus on addressing technical and operational barriers to the wider adoption of alternative fuels, including biofuels, ammonia and methanol, while also examining technologies that can reduce emissions from the existing shipping fleet.
GCMD's work on alternative fuels centres on operational safety and monitoring, reporting and verification of emissions. Its trials are designed to generate operational data on the safe bunkering and handling of new fuels, while its assurance work seeks to improve confidence in fuel quantity, quality and greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
Equinor brings experience from chartering vessels powered by LNG, LPG and methanol, as well as testing biofuels and supplying methanol to the maritime sector. The Norwegian energy company is also involved in trials of ammonia as a marine fuel, including work on the safety, regulatory and bunkering infrastructure needed for its wider use.
"The partnership brings together GCMD's capabilities in conducting real-world maritime pilots with Equinor's experience as a charterer, energy provider and developer of low-carbon solutions," the organisation said.
The companies will also explore technologies beyond alternative fuels, including energy-efficiency solutions and onboard carbon capture and storage (OCCS).
GCMD has conducted trials to quantify the real-world fuel savings from technologies such as wind-assisted propulsion and has worked on financing mechanisms intended to facilitate their wider adoption. Its Project CAPTURED demonstrated an end-to-end system for capturing and liquefying CO₂ onboard ships, generating evidence that contributed to the recognition of captured CO₂ under the EU Emissions Trading System.
Equinor's experience in carbon capture and storage extends to the Northern Lights project in Norway, developed jointly with Shell and TotalEnergies. The project transports liquefied CO₂ by ship to an onshore terminal before sending it through pipelines for permanent storage beneath the North Sea.
Northern Lights started storing its first CO₂ in 2025 and has an initial annual storage capacity of 1.5mn tonnes. Its second phase is planned to increase capacity to at least 5mn tonnes a year, according to Equinor.
"Together, the organisations will leverage their complementary expertise to help address technical and operational gaps in scaling alternative marine fuels and supporting the development and uptake of other maritime decarbonisation solutions," GCMD said.
Equinor has been developing lower-emission marine-fuel options as part of its broader maritime strategy. The company has experience with LNG, LPG, biofuels, methanol and ammonia, while its maritime activities also include the development of solutions for reducing emissions from vessels used in its offshore operations.
The company has also supported the conversion of the offshore supply vessel Viking Energy to operate on ammonia. Equinor has described the project as a demonstration of ammonia's potential as a marine fuel and part of efforts to develop practical solutions for lower-emission shipping.
The partnership comes as shipping companies and fuel suppliers face the challenge of moving from pilot projects to commercially scalable alternatives to conventional marine fuels. That transition requires not only sufficient supplies of low-carbon fuels but also compatible vessels, bunkering infrastructure, safety standards and reliable systems for measuring emissions reductions.
Through the five-year collaboration, GCMD and Equinor will seek to combine their operational experience and pilot projects to help close those gaps and support the broader adoption of maritime decarbonisation technologies.
