Did you know that about 90% of global trade is transported by marine shipping? And shipping is statistically “the least environmentally damaging mode of transport when its productive value is taken into consideration,” according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
But even the least environmentally damaging mode of transport can be made more sustainable.
Marine electrification makes shipping more sustainable
Marine electrification leads the industry away from the use of fossil fuels. Tens of energy-efficient measures and solutions for maritime decarbonization are already available. In March 2025, DNV released a comprehensive overview of the products and solutions for maritime electrification, including batteries, shaft generators and variable frequency drives.
Batteries can be used for short-sea shipping and propulsion. They “can improve the energy efficiency of combustion engine-based power systems by peak shaving, load optimization, and providing the availability of immediate power and spinning reserve,” according to DNV (2025). In addition, “Ships spending a lot of time in dynamic positioning (DP) mode can reduce fuel consumption by as much as 25% by using batteries.” Fuel savings of even up to 40% have been measured and reported by North Sea Shipping and Wärtsilä (2019).
For longer routes between continents where full electrification is not possible yet, marine shipping requires alternative fuels. But even so, the energy efficiency of any vessel can be remarkably improved with hybridization.
And as even better technology becomes available, we expect the economics of battery hybridization and full electrification to further improve for longer routes and bigger vessels.
But how sustainable are the solutions themselves?
Maritime electrification reduces emissions and helps ships meet the requirements of legislation and regulations.
However, today’s renewable solutions are only a partial solution, for they bring a new set of ethical, environmental and social challenges with them.
The March 26, 2025, meeting ofSESKO (National Electrotechnical Standardization Organization in Finland) addressed just these topics. The participants at this 60th anniversary seminar included representatives of the organizations and companies directly involved in electrification in Finland.
Some of the important points:
- Jo Cops, President of the International Electrotechnical Commission,brought up that an all-electric future and the need for more electricity and energy-efficient solutions also mean emerging technologies that bring social and ethical challenges.
- Peter Hellström from Technology Centre Merinova discussed standardization as a way to minimizegreenwashing and the misuse of sustainability labels.
- Helena Soimakallio, Executive Director, Sustainable Growth at Technology Industries of Finland, pointed out that the move from a fossil fuel-based economy to a mineral-based economy leads to geopolitical risks.
In a panel discussion, these three further examinedthe need for reliable and compatible systems and standardization to ensure seamless integration of affordable, sustainable innovation.
In the marine world, this includes establishing shore infrastructure, production and distribution to support the use of batteries in shipping.
How are these issues being addressed?
The IEC is working to embed sustainability in all standards. Both the EU and NATO are looking for alternatives to the minerals and other materials currently imported from China.
The European Commission has announced 47 strategic projects under the European Critical Raw Materials Act, which “aims to ensure a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials for Europe’s industry and significantly lower the EU’s dependency on imports from single country suppliers” (European Commission 2025).
An EU-funded research project called MagNEO has been established to reduce dependency on rare earth materials. Coordinated by the research organization SINTEF AS, the MagNEO project will develop new alloy materials free from rare earth elements for permanent magnets (PMs) and their components.
As one of the 16 partners in the project, The Switch will be demonstrating the use of these new magnets in our machines. MagNEO will also develop recycling strategies to allow an efficient reuse of alloys, copper and steel. All this will reduce Europe’s dependence on unstable markets and enable business opportunities across the circular value chain of permanent magnet machines.
Sustainability and company products
At the company level, sustainability efforts can be immediately addressed by taking small steps in the right direction.
We at The Switch are continually working toward new solutions and methods. In addition to electric machines, The Switch offers DC systems with high efficiency to better utilize on-board energy on vessels. DC-Hubs offer the same performance as AC systems with fewer components and conversions, resulting in higher efficiency. They also enable gensets to operate at optimum load points, reducing fuel consumption. The ring network and ultrafast protection concept increase reliability due to system redundancy even during DP3 operations.
Our products are designed to have a very long lifetime – tens of years. Permanent magnets are made of long-lasting materials that do not need to be changed during the lifetime of the machine.
When our electrical machines reach the end of their useful life, we provide decommissioning guidelines with recycling recommendations for the end users.
We also make sure our supply chain is transparent. This means that we visit our suppliers to review the sources of all parts and to discuss key issues, such as CO2 emissions. We also provide a list of raw materials and chemicals we do not accept.
Sustainability on the factory floor
For improved sustainability on the factory floor, companies can take steps to move forward while staying alert for new developments. Analyzing CO2 emissions, for instance, encourages us to seek out more environmentally friendly processing methods.
We at The Switch have chosen renewable electricity and green district heating at our factories and follow ISO 14001 standards for our environmental management system.
We reuse or recycle all materials, including packaging material such as transport pallets, following EU waste directives. This means:
- We prioritize repairing or reusing all materials.
- If reuse is not possible, then we recycle the material.
- If recycling is not possible, we use the material for energy production.
As a result, CO2 emissions of The Switch operations will drop close to zero in the very near future.
Our factories in Finland currently give off no CO2 emissions. Only 5 tCO2 will be released from the cars we lease in 2026. And by 2027, we will lease only electric cars.
We’re in this together
By applying today’s most sustainable methods while seeking better solutions for tomorrow, we can solve the challenges ahead of us!
References
DNV (2025) Energy-Efficiency Measures and Technologies, report. Available: https://www.dnv.com/maritime/publications/energy-efficiency-report-download/
European Commission (2025) European Critical Raw Materials Act. Available: https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal/green-deal-industrial-plan/european-critical-raw-materials-act_en
IMO (2025) Marine Environment, website. Available: https://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Environment/Pages/Default.aspx
MagNEO (2025) MagNEO project, website. Available: https://magneoproject.eu/
SESKO ry (26.3.2025) The 60-year anniversary seminar at Helsinki Music Centre.
SESKO ry (2025) Standardointi on tulevaisuustyötä. Helsinki: Picaset Oy. 139 s. ISBN 978-952-88-0121-4.
Wärtsilä (2019) Hybrid solution upgrade brings significant fuel savings for offshore vessel. Available: https://www.wartsila.com/insights/case-study/north-sea-giant