The demand for green hydrogen and its derivatives would increase massively in the coming years if the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopts a proposal for a global carbon fuel tax on the shipping industry.

While the IMO has a target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions from the maritime sector by 50% by 2050 (compared to 2008 levels) — a goal that could be increased in a forthcoming July meeting — it has been hard to see how it would get there, given that today’s carbon-rich heavy fuels are much cheaper than cleaner alternatives, such as renewable hydrogen, ammonia and methanol.

However, last week, a revised proposal of a “Fund and Reward” carbon tax was submitted by the International Chamber of Shipping — a trade body representing about 80% of the world’s merchant fleet — that seeks to charge shipowners $50 per tonne of fossil-derived marine fuel oil.