Marine energy solutions provider KPI OceanConnect, multinational professional services network Deloitte and payment services provider ZTLment on Friday (7 July) announced a new partnership to incorporate blockchain technology into marine energy trading through the AuctionConnect platform to ensure greater traceability in the value chain and improve maritime sustainability. 

The organisations will combine their innovative approaches and expertise at the sixth International Blockchain School hackathon in August 2023 to develop a transparent, sustainable method for carbon offsetting transactions in the shipping industry.

Whatever the agreements reached during the International Maritime Organization’s MEPC 80 discussions, transparency, innovation and the digital technologies that support them will be fundamental to helping the shipping industry manage its carbon footprint and automate payments in the value chain. 

As the uptake of carbon credits will increase in both the voluntary and mandatory markets, KPI OceanConnect, Deloitte and ZTLment recognise the need for greater transparency in the value chain. Using blockchain technology to provide an unalterable record of carbon credit transactions, the collaboration aims to restore trust in carbon offsets, and create a reliable and effective picture of emissions reductions. This will help to solve the long-standing challenge of the accuracy and reliability in carbon offsetting claims. 

In this partnership, Deloitte brings its wealth of knowledge and large network, while ZTLment brings its platform for moving real money with smart contracts and expertise in developing fully regulated blockchain technology. 

For KPI OceanConnect, the initiative reinforces its position as an innovative, transparent and sustainability-driven partner for the shipping industry. The organisation is further enhancing compliance, security and transparency for clients using its marine energy trading platform, AuctionConnect, while also supporting the shipping industry in its alignment with sustainability goals. If the hackathon is successful the solution is expected to be taken to production in the fall of 2023.

Per Funch-Nielsen, Director of AuctionConnect, said: “The shipping industry has a crucial role to play in the global transition to a low-carbon economy, which also means that the industry is seeing a lot of demands from customers, regulators, investors and credit institutions to reduce its climate footprint. The development of green fuels is a viable pathway towards decarbonisation for a sector at the heart of the energy transition.”

“However, many alternative fuels are still in the early stages of development for widespread use in shipping globally. Along with biofuels, an immediate solution to reduce emissions is carbon offsetting. The inclusion of blockchain technology on our world leading digital platform for marine energy trading, allows us to link the flow of purchasing marine fuels and carbon offsets, to provide immutable proof of the transaction, the ownership of the carbon credit and the payment.”

Mads Stolberg-Larsen, Co-founder and CEO at ZTLment, said: “Blockchain technology allows ZTLment to take payments and documentation of carbon credits and connect them on a single infrastructure with full traceability for all parties. My prediction is that carbon credits will be the first value chain in the world to be completely tokenised through blockchain technology, creating a whole new era of reliability and transparency.

“Using smart contracts technology, we can create a direct link between the flow of funds, the fuels and the carbon credits that have been purchased. KPI OceanConnect’s clients will complete a normal bank transfer, where the money is uploaded to the blockchain and automatically distributed to the various suppliers. If the fuel buyer doesn’t have a blockchain address, they simply download a certified document from the AuctionConnect platform, which references all the underlying blockchain transactions.”

Rasmus Winther Mølbjerg, Director at Deloitte, said: “We see huge potential for blockchain technology to accelerate the green transition. Strategic partnerships like ours with KPI OceanConnect and ZTLment are the way forward. Blockchain technology has enormous potential to create trust and transparency in the green economy.”

“That’s why companies need to come together to implement robust procedures for issuing, tracking and retiring carbon credits to ensure accountability throughout the entire trading process. Applying systemic trust and transparency in the digital era has never been more important.”

Photo credit: KPI OceanConnect
Published: 10 July, 2023