Hard to decarbonize sectors such as maritime shipping will need to rely on a combination of tools to get to carbon neutrality by 2050, BW Group said Wednesday.

Speaking at a DNV GL webcast, chairman Andreas Sohmen-Pao said there’s a “massive challenge” ahead to find zero-carbon fuels for the shipping industry. Some also underestimate the share of fossil fuels in the energy system, with renewables currently only accounting for 10% of the mix, he said.

The head of the global maritime group, which is involved in shipping, floating gas infrastructure and deepwater oil & gas production, noted that policy, financial resources and skills will help boost the energy transition and support the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors.

However, Sohmen-Pao said there’s not a single “best option” for the maritime shipping nowadays, and the industry will use a combination of options. BW Group is looking at methanol, biofuels and ammonia to fuel its ships, Kallanish Energy reports.

Some industry players believe the maritime shipping sector must embrace complexity and integrate the “green and brown” fuels, working with renewables and some sort of carbon capture and storage technology to curb emissions and meet IMO regulations.

DNV GL said in its Energy Transition Outlook 2020 report that there’s uncertainty regarding which low and zero-carbon fuels will dominate the shipping’s fuel mix in 2050. Its “best estimate” is that shipping’s fuel mix in 2050 will have switched from being almost entirely oil dominated today, to a mix dominated by low- and/or zero-carbon fuels (60%) and natural gas (30%, mostly LNG).

Low-carbon fuels include ammonia, hydrogen and other electrofuels such as e-methanol.

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