The Costa Group has created a dedicated decarbonization department within its Hamburg-based Carnival Maritime unit. The Costa Group comprises Europe's leading cruise line, Costa Cruises, and AIDA Cruises, Germany's leading cruise line.
The new department, which brings together the Group's scientific and technical expertise under one roof, will be responsible for developing and implementing the strategy to achieve the decarbonization targets for the Costa and AIDA fleets by 2050. The effort will focus on research and development, energy management, and data analysis to develop the roadmap that will lead to zero-emission vessel operations.
As a priority, the newly created department will work to further improve the environmental performance of the existing fleet, collaborating with the sustainability departments of the Costa and AIDA brands. Specifically, the unit will study and test new technologies, such as batteries, fuel cells, solar and wind power, to accelerate their availability.
Currently, even more advanced exhaust gas cleaning systems are being developed in collaboration with other partners to further reduce emissions levels. Over time, advancements in the large-scale application of alternative fuels, including biofuels (liquefied biogas and biodiesel), methanol, ammonia, and hydrogen fuels, will allow ships to be flexible in their use of low-carbon energy. Solutions are being designed to meet the requirements of both newly built vessels and the existing fleet regarding the capacity to store and use next-generation fuels.
“Addressing climate change requires significant effort and commitment, and we believe that the creation of our new dedicated working group is a key asset in accelerating the development of new concepts that can lead us to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2050,” said Michael Thamm, CEO of Costa Group and Carnival Asia. “To meet this challenge, we intend to establish collaborations and partnerships with other stakeholders across the value chain to continue our pioneering role within the cruise industry. We will also continue working closely with governments to ensure that Europe can lead the way towards sustainable cruising.”.
Over the years, the Costa Group has led sustainable innovation in the cruise industry by introducing advanced new technologies on board its existing and new ships. The company was the first to introduce LNG propulsion – the most advanced fuel technology available for reducing emissions – with four ships already in service in the Costa Group fleet. In addition, most of the fleet's ships are equipped with shore power supply systems to achieve zero emissions while in port where this technology is available.
Currently, the Costa Group is preparing to install the largest lithium-ion battery storage system on the AIDAprima cruise ship this summer. Furthermore, hydrogen fuel cells powered by methanol are being installed on the AIDAnova for initial testing this summer. With Ecospray, the Italy-based company in which Costa holds a stake, the Costa Group is also working on experimental carbon capture projects.
