Dear Members and Subscribers,

 

We are happy to share with you the second newsletter of the Zero-Emission Shipping Mission in 2025.

 

2025 has been an eventful year so far. Mission projects have been finalised and knowledge-shared. The Mission has been and will continue to be represented at events around the world promoting the transition to zero-emission shipping. And the Mission has been working internally on sharpening its strategic focus and priorities for the 2025-2030 period.

 

You can read more about this and other things in the newsletter below.

 

Welcome!

In 2025, the Mission has put great effort into reviewing and focusing its strategic direction and priorities that should guide its work for the 2025–2030 period. The strategic work has been initiated in order to ensure that the Mission's efforts remain aligned with the evolving needs of the shipping industry and most effectively contribute to reaching the Mission's 2030-goals.

 

As part of the strategic proces, the Mission has held two in-person workshops throughout 2025. The first took place in March and was a full Secretariat workshop where members discussed how to approach setting strategic priorities for the next five years. This was followed by a wider workshop in May 2025, which brought together core members for a full day of discussion. The aim was to include broad representation of member perspectives and ensure that strategic priorities were aligned with the shipping industry challenges of today. Following these engagements, a draft of the Mission's Strategic Priorities 2025-2030 has been circulated to core and supporting members and will be submitted for final approval at the next Executive Committee meeting in September.

 

As part of the proces of strategically focusing the Mission's work, the Secretariat has reviewed the existing ZESM Action Plan and identified a subset of priority actions, taking into account gaps, timelines, capacity, and where the Mission adds the most strategic value. These 16 key actions have been sent to Mission members for consultation in a survey. The consolidated results from the survey will be used to refine the list of priority actions further with the aim of ensuring that the Mission is focused where it can make the most impact when looking towards 2030.

   ZESM workshop members on 6 May 2025, Copenhagen

 

In May, the Zero-Emission Shipping Mission (ZESM) co-hosted a knowledge-sharing in-person event with Danish Shipping for shipowners, focusing on ammonia as a marine fuel, in Copenhagen, Denmark. The event served as a platform to share recent progress and foster dialogue around safety, innovation, and design in zero-emission shipping. It provided an opportunity to present findings from the recently completed ZESM project Safety of Crew in Low/Zero Emission Ships, led by the Danish Maritime Authority and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, as well as updates from the ongoing ZESM project Emerging Ship Design Principles for Ammonia fuelled vessels, also led by the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping. These projects focus on crew safety and ship design for ammonia-fuelled vessels, both key areas in enabling the transition to green shipping.

 

You can read more about the projects’ findings here:

 

 

In February, the ZESM project Mapping of Global Financial Support Opportunities for Zero-Emission Ships and Energy Efficiency, led by the Danish Maritime Authority, was finalized and the study published. The study consists of a report as well as an Excel sheet that dives into the specifics of the funding opportunities and provides direct access through URLs. With around 70 funding opportunities found, the study seeks to provide ship owners and governments at a global scale with an overview over financial support and guarantee opportunities for investments in new builds, retrofitting and/or energy efficiency improvements and thus make it easier for ship owners to choose green solutions for their ships. By doing so, the study aims to address the vast needs and challenges related to financing the green transition of shipping. The study and its results were disseminated in March at a webinar organized by the Danish Maritime Authority gathering around 50 participants.

 

You can access the report and excel sheet and read more about the study here.

 

This year, Mission Innovation, under which the Zero-Emission Shipping Mission is one of seven missions, celebrates its 10-year anniversary. This will be celebrated during the Mission Innovation 10 and Clean Energy Ministerial 16 (CEM16/MI-10) from 25-27 August 2025 in Busan, Korea. The event will bring together high-level policymakers, industry leaders, and key stakeholders from around the globe to promote dialogue, knowledge-sharing, and strategic collaboration toward scalable clean energy solutions. The Zero-Emission Shipping Mission will be firmly represented at the Ministerial and engage in debates, panels, high-level talks and more, all with the aim of accelerating the transition to zero-emission fuels for the shipping sector through dialogue, cooperation, partnerships and action.

 

We hope to see you in Busan!

This will be the last ZESM newsletter you will receive by email. Starting from 2026, the Zero-Emission Shipping Mission newsletter will be sent out via the Mission's LinkedIn page to its almost 3000 followers in order to drive engagement further.

 

If you wish to continue receiving the newsletter, please make sure to follow the Zero-Emission Shipping Mission on LinkedIn.

 

See you in 2026 on LinkedIn!

 

Stay tuned at the Zero-Emission Shipping Mission’s website or LinkedIn for more information and project updates. If you have any questions on the Shipping Mission, please do not hesitate to contact the Secretariat on shippingmission@dma.dk.