Sow the seeds for emission-free shipping

In the wake of Wärtsilä’s Future Innovation Day in 2018, the six Nordic companies Equinor, Aker Solutions, DFDS, Kværner, Grieg Star and Wärtsilä gathered around a common goal: To find the fastest way to zero emissions in international shipping. With this starting point, the consortium took the name ZEEDS – Zero Emission Energy Distribution at Sea – based on a proposal from Zpirit.

After working with possibility scenarios for a year, the time had come to present the vision and ideas that the group has gathered around. The launch was to take place at Wärtsilä’s Future Innovation Day conference in connection with Nor-Shipping 2019 in Oslo – the giant trade fair that brought together 50,000 representatives from the global maritime industry. Zpirit was commissioned to develop and produce the film that would open the ball and set the tone for the discussions around this important topic.

The film was to have a twofold objective. It should, of course, draw up the main lines for the idea concept the ZEEDS group has been working on: A network of bunkering stations located at sea where ships can fill up with zero-emission fuel along the most important shipping lanes – where the fuel of the future may also be produced. At least as important was the message about collaboration across borders, in order to inspire even more actors – private and public – to take part in the ZEEDS initiative. For if shipping is to become green, both shipping companies, equipment suppliers, authorities and other premise suppliers must wholeheartedly support the common goal of zero emissions.

With a purpose that we at Zpirit also support, this was a particularly inspiring project to embark on. And we were certain of one thing at least from the first idea meeting: The film should have a positive overall tone and encourage faith in the future. Away with the doomsday prophecies that are often used when the need for climate action is to be hammered home.

The sequence and development in the film was also important. Instead of immediately presenting the solution to the problem, we wanted to show each step in the idea of ​​ZEEDS – and how these in turn lead to further development of the concept. In this way, we ensured that any questions related to the topic are answered in the correct order – which in turn makes it more difficult to argue against the logic of the project.

Instead of just presenting the numbers, data and sketches that formed much of the basis of the film, it was also important for us to bring in real people – to highlight the generations that will take over from us and remind people of the reason we need to reduce the emissions. The leading roles eventually became an ever so small local “family enterprise”, with Eva Martens and grandfather Knut Martens as actors – and mum Louise Martens as narrator. Together, the debutantes from Stord made a super effort!

We have received feedback from the customer that the finished film has given the ZEEDS participants a solid boost in their further work – through increased pride, enthusiasm, concretization and belief in their own concept. The film has also helped the consortium to reach out into the world with its message, through screenings both at Future Innovation Day 2019, Nor-Shipping’s prestigious opening conference – where many hundreds of leaders from the international maritime industry were gathered, and in social media. It is particularly gratifying that, in the wake of the launch, ZEEDS has received inquiries from several international players who would like to contribute to the work of the consortium.