To achieve the green transition in coastal and short-sea shipping, new and innovative environmental technologies must be developed and implemented. Access to necessary capital is a bottleneck today. Easier access to financing will be needed to accelerate this transition. The purpose of the pilot project was to develop and test attractive financing alternatives and financing structures for new technology, involving actors in both the public and private sector.
Status
Through interviews with shipowners, charterers, financial players and public institutions, the pilot has identified the most common challenges in financing new ships for the green shift. The main challenge is that there is a lack of risk capital/equity to fill the gap beyond normal external financing. Banks often offer loans of around 60-65% of total investment needs.
The pilot has prepared a framework to classify the extent to which maritime projects are “Green”, called “Shades of green”. The pilot’s focus on green solutions has resulted in significant maturation for all involved. What is defined as green funding? One result is that actors are more aware of their role in securing the necessary funding for green projects.
The pilot showed that the financial sector is relatively immature in its meeting with the green maritime transition. It is therefore expected that it will take some time to get attractive loan schemes in place.
June 2023
Sparebanken Vest has applied the framework for green financing solutions developed in Green Shipping Programme.