zero44, a provider of digital CO2 management solutions, has released its publicly available FuelEU Maritime Calculator. zero44 has developed this tool to enable shipping companies to quickly and easily understand the financial impact that the planned FuelEU Maritime regulation will have on their business. The results are estimates and not binding, but they provide a good initial basis for dealing with the costs and cost factors of FuelEU Maritime.

While the majority of shipping companies are still working on becoming EU ETS compliant, the next comprehensive legislation to decarbonize shipping is already on the horizon: FuelEU Maritime. Aimed at kick-starting the large-scale production of sustainable marine fuels, FuelEU Maritime’s main focus is decreasing vessels’ yearly average greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity. This is the amount of greenhouse gasses that are being emitted for every MJ of energy that is used on board a vessel. The regulation will enter into force in January 2025, dictating a GHG intensity limit that is 2 percent lower than the 2020 reference. This means that many vessels, when continuing business as usual, will face hefty noncompliance penalties immediately from the start of the regulation.

GHG intensity targets will get stricter every five years, all the way to an 80 percent decrease in GHG intensity from 2050 onward. In addition, a mandate for the use of onshore power supply and a subtarget for a 2 percent share of e-fuels in a vessel’s fuel mix will apply from 2030 and 2034, respectively.

The scope of FuelEU is similar to that of EU ETS, covering 50 percent of the energy used on voyages arriving at or departing from EU ports, and 100 percent of the energy used on voyages between EU ports for vessels larger than 5,000 gross tonnes. One of the main differences is that FuelEU covers the emissions over a fuel’s entire life cycle (from well to wake), instead of only tank-to-wake emissions.

Access the FuelEU Maritime Calculator here.