Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution that (a) hydrogen and (b) ammonia fuel will make to the decarbonisation of the shipping industry by 2025; and what the latest advice is of the Clean Maritime Council on bridging targets in (i) 2025 and (ii) 2030 for decarbonising the maritime sector.

DfT-commissioned research supporting the Clean Maritime Plan set out that hydrogen and ammonia, a hydrogen carrier, are expected to play a significant role for decarbonising the maritime sector, with ammonia representing the most prevalent fuel for shipping by 2051. It also suggested that the global market for elements of alternative fuel production technologies like hydrogen and ammonia, in which the UK has a strong competitive advantage, could rise to up to £11bn per year by 2050, and could generate economic benefits to the UK of up to £0.5bn per year by the middle of the century.

The Clean Maritime Plan includes the Government ambitions that by 2025 all new vessels being ordered for use in UK waters are being designed with zero emission propulsion capability and that by 2035 low or zero emission marine fuel bunkering options are readily available across the UK. The Clean Maritime Plan has been developed in close partnership with the maritime industry, including the Clean Maritime Council, which advice continues to inform the implementation of the Plan. Further detail on developing trajectories for the decarbonization of the maritime sector in the UK will be set out within the forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan.