Governance of innovative cleantech retrofitting in the shipping industry? Experiences from a Danish case study

Air pollution from maritime transportation has become an important public health and environmental concern. As result, new international regulations seek to reduce the pollutants issuing from marine fuels combustion. Marine cleaner technology has been regarded as the key solution to comply with regulations and reduce operation costs. However, definitions of maritime cleantech differ and range from end-of-pipe pollution control equipment, more efficient engines, improved hull-design and alternate propulsion fuels (LNG, methanol). Different constellations of actors seem to follow different cleantech trajectories. It is therefore important to develop new forms of governance in order to create innovations which are comparable with the state of art in other industries and new ways of building networks and partnerships.
The paper aims to improve the understanding of cleaner technology as innovative retrofitting and forms of governance in the shipping sector by analyzing: How can governance promote clean tech innovation in the shipping industry? To answer this question, the article analyses the Danish "Partnership for Cleaner Shipping". It was initiated by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency in collaboration with the Danish Shipowners' Association. The partnership identifies innovative cleaner retrofittings as one of the key domains with the purpose to improve Danish shipping firms to create competitive advantage and comply with the new international regulations of air pollution avoidance at sea. The case shows that partnership and networks create a protected space for development of maritime cleaner technology which improve the enviromental performance of the shipping industry by creating cleaner retrofitting technologies.