Inmarsat, the world leader in global mobile satellite communications, is a founding member of Asia’s first ‘Decarbonising Shipping’ initiative to harness the power of start-ups to meet UN targets on greenhouse gas emissions, which launched earlier this month, the company said in its release.
The regional initiative, based in Singapore, is part of the Trade & Transport Impact (TTI) programme from venture development firm Rainmaking to bring startups together with backers with maritime experience and expertise. Inmarsat joined the first two cycles of TTI, held in Europe in 2019, which scouted 1,200+ start-ups and led to 24 collaboration projects.
Backed by the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore, the new initiative is expected to identify 1,000+ projects offering models to tackle decarbonisation, with selected start-ups to be matched with maritime industry leaders willing to build collaborative pilot projects.
Alongside Inmarsat, other confirmed partners include Cargill, DNV GL, Hafnia, MC Shipping Inc., Vale and Wilhelmsen.
The International Maritime Organization is targeting a 50% cut of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships by 2050, and average carbon intensity (CO2 per tonne-mile) reductions of 40% by 2030 and 70% by 2050 compared to 2008 figures.
Inmarsat’s recent research report ‘Trade 2.0: How Startups are driving the next generation of maritime trade’, predicted the value of Ship Technology (ShipTech) rising from $106bn to US$278bn by 2030 driven in part by innovators and disruptors providing solutions that will help monitor and cut emissions.
In the last year, Inmarsat has launched its own IoT platform – Fleet Data - and its own dedicated bandwidth service – Fleet Connect - and has continued to develop its Certified Application Provider (CAP) programme which now has over 20 certified providers including ABB, NAPA, Hyundai Global services and Nautilus Labs. As part of the programme, Inmarsat will provide a unique and fast-tracked opportunity to selected companies to become a Certified Application Provider allowing the selected startup to accelerate the scale-up of their application through extended outreach and removing the need for their own solution-specific hardware.
ABOUT INMARSAT
Inmarsat is the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications. It owns and operates the world’s most diverse global portfolio of mobile telecommunications satellite networks, and holds a multi-layered, global spectrum portfolio, covering L-band, Ka-band and S-band, enabling unparalleled breadth and diversity in the solutions it provides. Inmarsat’s long-established global distribution network includes not only the world’s leading channel partners but also its own strong direct retail capabilities, enabling end to end customer service assurance.
ABOUT RAINMAKING
Rainmaking is a corporate innovation and venture development firm which works with businesses and organizations of all shapes and sizes, from early-stage start-ups to Fortune 500 corporations, in order to solve challenges across the ever-changing landscape of innovation. The multidisciplinary team consists of some of the most experienced venture builders, strategists, engineers, designers, data scientists and growth experts around.