Protecting our planet and mitigating the worst effects of climate change are a key element of ESA’s Strategy 2040. Whilst the environmental impact of industry and transportation are well-documented, fewer people realise that the maritime sector in Europe is responsible for around 4% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Although the total maritime emissions in Europe have started to fall since 2022, the journey to net zero remains significant. No single nation can achieve this alone, so collaboration is key. To that end, companies and experts from 20 nations recently came together at ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) for the ‘Showcasing Space Applications for Maritime Decarbonisation Workshop,’ to share details of innovative projects and services using space assets, data and technologies to address decarbonisation challenges in the sector. These projects are being developed in response to ESA’s Business Applications and Space Solutions (BASS) Maritime Decarbonisation thematic funding call, which closed earlier this year.
“Space data is a key enabler and has a major role to play in maritime decarbonisation,” said Rita Rinaldo, Head of Applications, Projects and Studies Division at ESA, in her opening remarks, explaining how BASS has already supported more than 100 projects in the maritime sector over the past ten years. “At ESA BASS, one of our key roles is to facilitate dialogue between communities, and to provide the opportunity for key players in the sector to come together, share experiences and make connections,” she continued, a theme that Nil Angli, Maritime Lead for ESA, reinforced.
“Today is not about ships or even spaceships,” Mr Angli said. “Today is about partnerships and working together to accelerate the green transition in the maritime sector.”
Members of the Maritime Sustainability Task Force, established in early 2024, convened ahead of the workshop, with several members delivering keynote speeches throughout the day. This included new member Salvador Furio, Development Director from Fundación ValenciaPort, Europe’s fourth largest port. He outlined the role of space applications in the port’s goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2030. His speech set the scene for the presentations on space-enabled solutions for ports, including sedimentation forecasting in ports, infrastructure maintenance, a 5G and satellite-based tool for assisted and autonomous shipping, and circular economy pathways for turning emissions waste into valuable resources.
In a keynote on Digitalisation, Thomas Mellor, Head of Technical Partnerships at the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO), outlined how new regulations and standards are also driving the move to decarbonisation in the sector, including the new IHO S-100 universal data framework designed by the UKHO.
The four projects in this session showcased how space data is optimising routes to cut fuel consumption, improving safety through enhanced connectivity, and using physics-informed AI to make maritime data more efficient and actionable.
Gavin Allwright, Secretary General of the International Windship Association (IWSA), and one of the founding members of the Maritime Sustainability Task Force, outlined the rapid growth of the wind propulsion and alternative fuels market over the past ten years, and the growing investment in wind technologies in his “Win-win-wind’ keynote speech. The presentations that followed echoed these sentiments, sharing details of innovations around digital ships, airborne wind energy systems (kite) and technologies to convert CO2 into limestone.
The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), also a member of the Maritime Sustainability Task Force, led two afternoon sessions, focusing on emissions monitoring and automation.
Samy Djavidnia, Senior Project Officer at EMSA, stressed the need for collaboration among regulators, operators, industry, space agencies and researchers to unlock trusted and usable data for emissions reduction. Presentations covered space-powered solutions for monitoring pollutants such as CO2, methane, nitrogen oxides and VOCs—including innovations to track the shadow fleet using Automatic Identification System (AIS) and remote sensing.
Finally, Peter Kirov, Head of Safety, Security and Surveillance at EMSA, spoke about the strategic partnership between EMSA and ESA, and the significance of this ongoing collaboration in addressing some of the major challenges facing the maritime sector. He went on to introduce the Automation session, which showcased applications that use space assets to enhance navigation, maintenance and safety for autonomous and semi-autonomous vessels—while delivering both commercial benefits and emissions reductions.
“Showcasing Space Applications for Maritime Decarbonisation" is the third event in the Space for Blue series of workshops. These events aim to bring key stakeholders together to discuss how space can be a powerful catalyst for maritime—enabling smarter decisions, stronger partnerships and a faster transition to a sustainable future for the sector, not only in Europe but on a global scale.
BASS intends to strengthen the support to companies wishing to propose innovative business ideas using space data and assets for maritime decarbonisation and optimisation of operations at sea and in ports. It will also strive to match-make the aspirations, capabilities and needs of space and maritime ecosystems.
