Bioenergy Technologies Office

Interagency Collaboration Releases Request for Information on the Establishment of Green Shipping Corridors between the U.S. and the UK

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The United States envisions green shipping corridors as shipping routes between two or more ports that showcase zero- and near zero- emission lifecycle fuels and technologies with the ambition to achieve zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions no later than 2050. Today, around 3% of global GHG emissions come from international shipping, and the industry generally relies on the availability of and access to energy-intensive fuels and technologies to transport freight internationally over long distances. Green shipping corridors encourage early and rapid adoption of zero- and near zero- emission lifecycle fuels and technologies charting a course to full decarbonization.

To address the decarbonization goals of the global shipping industry the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), with support by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the United Kingdom (UK) government’s Department for Transport are releasing simultaneous, but separate, Development of Green Shipping Corridors between the United States and the United Kingdom Requests for Information (RFI) seeking to understand the issues related to the establishment of at least one green shipping corridor between the two countries. The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback from maritime stakeholders including ports, shippers, cargo owners, fuel producers, marine terminal operators, trade organizations, industry, academia, research laboratories, and government agencies to help lay the groundwork for the development of green shipping corridors and to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions no later than 2050.

Establishing green shipping corridors between the U.S. and the UK aligns with both the UK-led Clydebank Declaration, which brought countries together (including the U.S.) in 2021 to announce their intent to support the creation of green shipping corridors, and the Green Shipping Challenge, which encouraged the global maritime industry in 2022, to present decarbonization plans to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees centigrade.

“The maritime sector is critical to shipping freight but also accounts for around 3% of global emissions. So, the U.S. has committed to addressing the climate crisis, through ambitious domestic action and sustained international initiatives like the Green Shipping Challenge and the Clydebank Declaration," says Michael Berube, DOE Deputy Secretary for Sustainable Transportation and Fuels. "Partnering with the UK to establish green shipping corridors between our two countries outlines a pathway to create a clean future for global maritime transportation."

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically as a Microsoft Word (.docx) attachment, to GreenShipping@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00 pm (ET) on September 29, 2023. View the full RFI on EERE Exchange or Grants.gov.