Mass-Balance Method for Provision of Net Zero Emission Transport Services

Abstract

There is a strong need to reduce emissions from transport and logistics. Electrification and use of greener energy carriers and fuels provide a ready way to reduce emissions, but these technologies are generally more expensive than the conventional ones they are replacing. Fortunately, some shippers are willing to pay the extra cost to ship their goods using net zero emission transport solutions. To capture this demand, carriers need to decarbonize a part of their operations related to the transport volumes of the “green” shippers. This paper proposes a mass-balancing method based on carbon footprinting to equip the carriers with a verifiable way to market net zero emission services without creation of operational inefficiencies and physical separation of conventional and low emission transport. The paper shows feasibility and rather “easy” data requirements of the method in an application case on real world data of a deep-sea carrier.