Costa Group establishes decarbonisation department
The unit will study and test new technologies, such as batteries, fuel cells, solar and wind power, to accelerate their availability.
Costa Group announced the creation of a dedicated decarbonisation department within its Carnival Maritime unit based in Hamburg.
The newly established department, which brings the Group’s scientific and technical expertise under one roof, will be responsible for developing and implementing the strategy for achieving the decarbonisation ambitions of the Costa and AIDA fleets by 2050. The effort will strongly focus on research and development, energy management and data analytics to develop the roadmap that will lead to zero-emission ship operations.
As a priority, the newly created department will work further to improve the environmental performance of the existing fleet, working in synergy with the Sustainability Departments of the Costa and AIDA brands.
Next-generation exhaust gas cleaning systems are being developed with partners to allow lower emission levels. Over time, developments in the application of alternative fuels on a large scale, including biofuels (liquefied biogas and biodiesel), methanol, ammonia and hydrogen fuels, will allow the ships to be flexible in the use of low-carbon energy. Solutions are being designed to meet requirements for new build ships and the current fleet for the capability to store and utilise new-generation fuels.
Michael Thamm, Group CEO, Costa Group and Carnival Asia, said, “To meet this challenge, we intend to build collaborations and partnerships with other players in the value chain to continue our pioneering role within the cruise industry. We will also continue to cooperate closely with governments to ensure that Europe can lead the way to sustainable cruising.”
Over the years, Costa Group has been leading sustainable innovation for the cruise industry by introducing new advanced technologies on board its existing and new ships. The company was the first to introduce LNG propulsion – the most advanced fuel technology available to reduce emissions – with four ships being already in service in the Costa Group fleet. Moreover, the majority of the ships in the fleet are equipped with shore power capabilities to be zero-emission in ports, where this technology is available.
Currently, Costa Group is ready to install the biggest lithium-ion battery storage system on the cruise ship AIDAprima by the summer. Moreover, fuel cells powered by hydrogen derived from methanol are being currently installed on the AIDAnova to run the first tests this summer. With Ecospray, the Italian-based company of which Costa is a shareholder, Costa Group is also working on carbon capture experimental projects.
