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Wärtsilä Corporation

Wärtsilä is a global leader in innovative technologies and lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Bart Groothuis (Member of the European Parliament)

2 Dec 2025 · Maritime decarbonisation and industry

Meeting with Jeannette Baljeu (Member of the European Parliament)

2 Dec 2025 · Maritime decarbinisation and industry

Meeting with Ana Vasconcelos (Member of the European Parliament)

17 Nov 2025 · Sustainable Transport Investment Plan

Meeting with Antonio Lopez-Nicolas (Head of Unit Energy)

5 Nov 2025 · Securing grid stability: How to address Europe’s need for flexible capacity

Meeting with Vesa Terävä (Head of Unit Secretariat-General)

4 Nov 2025 · The discussion centred on the decarbonisation challenge for Europe, specifically focusing on Wärtsilä's perspective regarding the energy transition, financing, and the regulatory framework necessary to achieve green goals while maintaining industr

Meeting with Monika Zsigri (Head of Unit Energy)

4 Nov 2025 · Exchange on how to promote investments in flexibility, Clean Industrial Deal, the Affordable Energy Action Plan and the Electrification Action Plan

Meeting with Simone Ritzek-Seidl (Cabinet of Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas)

4 Nov 2025 · Discussion on Sustainable Transport Investment Plan and the Industrial Maritime Strategy

Wärtsilä urges EU to incentivize flexible power capacity

13 Oct 2025
Topic — Revision of EU energy security framework for decarbonized, electrified systems.
Message — The company requests measures that incentivize investments in flexible power assets and cross-border cooperation. They argue planning electricity and fuel sectors together would exploit synergies and improve resilience. They want the Net-Zero Industry Act extended to cover all technologies maintaining system stability.123
Why — This would create markets for their flexible power plants and energy storage solutions.45
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Wärtsilä urges EU to launch e-fuel market intermediary

4 Sept 2025
Topic — A strategic initiative to boost public and private investment in sustainable transport fuels.
Message — Wärtsilä proposes a market intermediary to manage fuel contracts and pool demand. They also urge the Commission to recognize onboard carbon capture in maritime regulations.12
Why — Regulatory recognition would boost demand for Wärtsilä’s carbon capture and engine technologies.34
Impact — High-cost fuel producers may lose out during the intermediary’s competitive bidding process.5
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Wärtsilä urges EU to prioritize flexible, decentralized grid solutions

4 Aug 2025
Topic — The European grid package aims to modernize infrastructure for a resilient energy system.
Message — Wärtsilä proposes promoting flexible generation through reduced permitting for grid-supporting technologies and harmonized grid codes. They call for EU-wide incentives for decentralized solutions like engine power plants to support grid stability.12
Why — Unified certification standards would reduce manufacturing costs and speed up product delivery.3
Impact — Traditional centralized electricity operators may face competition from local-level energy signals.4
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Response to EU industrial maritime strategy

8 Jul 2025

Wärtsilä viewpoints for the Industrial Maritime Strategy Decarbonisation targets aim to achieve net-zero emission level by 2050 during a vessel lifetime will require a massive transformation. Key points to be considered in the Industrial Maritime Strategy: 1. Predictability and simplification of the regulations The predictability and simplification of regulations are extremely critical for the European Maritime Sector. FuelEU Maritime, and soon to be confirmed IMO MEPC 83 decisions, are good examples of regulations which provide the needed predictability. There needs to be a certainty that the decided pathways are valid for decades to come, when making investments in new vessels or even technology development. Otherwise the first movers or technology developers will be punished, if the pathway is drastically changed. 2. Availability of sustainable fuels Sustainable fuels play a key role in the decarbonisation of the maritime sector. The availability of sustainable fuels currently creates barriers for the required transformation. Technologies for using sustainable fuels are available, which has been demonstrated by companies like Wärtsilä. The main problem is that there is a massive lack of sustainable fuel availability. Wärtsilä would be able to provide more sustainable fuel enabled engines today, if the customers knew that they would get sustainable fuel for a reasonable cost. It is of the utmost importance to increase the availability of sustainable fuels with affordable prices and strenghten the value chain and markets for sustainable fuels. 3. Clear regulations for carbon capture and necessary infrastructure Carbon capture technologies are available (https://www.wartsila.com/media/news/07-05-2025-wartsila-launches-carbon-capture-solution-to-shipping-market-after-world-first-full-scale-installation-success-3582634) for vessels which will be not able to use the sustainable fuels. Wärtsilä believes that onboard carbon capture technology would pick up faster if the regulations would be clear and the necessary infrastructure would be in place. More and more shipowners today understand that being last in this transformational change is not going to be good for their financial performance. 4. Securing the technological leadership in shipping European maritime sector possesses major shipping companies and world leadership in ship building in the cruise vessel segment and in high technology ship equipment manufacturing. In all other areas the volumes and the leadership have moved outside of the EU. It is extremely challenging to change a trend that has been ongoing for decades, and where the competitors are also ready to invest massive amounts. The EU must ensure that Europe and the sector continue to invest in the technology leadership that Europe still possesses both in limited areas of shipbuilding as well as equipment businesses. The EU is best positioned to ensure that sustainable transition takes place and the sustainable fuels will be available at competitive prices. It is crucial to act now, otherwise countries outside of Europe will take this leadership. If Europe enables the most financially feasible transition, it is at the same time ensuring that the technology leadership will remain here. 5. Other measures to increase the competitiveness of the maritime sector While many recent legislative initiatives have been crucial for driving green business forward, others have resulted in a heavy administrative burden on European companies or hurt their cost-competitiveness. This applies also to the maritime sector, including the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and the EU Data Act, where the intention of the regulation is understandable, but impacts on competitiveness of a specific sector might be dramatic. Shipping is truly a sector where global competition is present and any regulation which endangers the competitive edge that European companies still have, should be carefully considered from various viewpoints.
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Meeting with Stéphane Séjourné (Executive Vice-President) and

1 Jul 2025 · EU Strategic Dialogue on the EU Industrial Maritime Strategy.

Meeting with Apostolos Tzitzikostas (Commissioner) and

1 Jul 2025 · Strategic Dialogue on the EU Industrial Maritime Strategy

Meeting with Kitti Nyitrai (Head of Unit Energy)

20 May 2025 · Maritime and Power Sector Decarbonisation

Meeting with Merja Kyllönen (Member of the European Parliament)

20 May 2025 · Ajankohtaista meriteollisuudessa

Meeting with Christophe Grudler (Member of the European Parliament)

20 May 2025 · Politique industrielle européenne

Meeting with Mika Aaltola (Member of the European Parliament) and Atlantic Council of the United States, Inc and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd

20 May 2025 · EU affairs

Meeting with Aura Salla (Member of the European Parliament)

25 Mar 2025 · How can the EU promote the competitiveness of clean technologies and assist in a successful transition to climate neutrality in the energy and maritime transport sectors, questions on Clean Industrial Deal and Sustainable Transport Investment Plan

Meeting with Jussi Saramo (Member of the European Parliament)

25 Mar 2025 · Clean Industrial Deal ja Affordable Energy Action Plan

Meeting with Kamil Talbi (Cabinet of Commissioner Dan Jørgensen) and Aula Europe

29 Jan 2025 · electricity markets

Meeting with Sebastian Tynkkynen (Member of the European Parliament)

29 Jan 2025 · Ajankohtaiset asiat

Meeting with Helena Hinto (Cabinet of Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas) and Aula Europe

29 Jan 2025 · Presentation of Wärtsilä company and the exchange of views on the new legislative mandate

Meeting with Bruno Tobback (Member of the European Parliament) and ENEDIS and Elia Transmission Belgium

18 Sept 2024 · Energy grids and sustainable energy transition in Europe

Meeting with Pekka Toveri (Member of the European Parliament)

18 Sept 2024 · EU's climate goals

Meeting with Andrea Wechsler (Member of the European Parliament) and TransnetBW GmbH and Negative Emissions Platform

17 Sept 2024 · EU Energy and Industry Policy

Meeting with Ville Niinistö (Member of the European Parliament)

17 Sept 2024 · Industry, Green deal

Meeting with Aura Salla (Member of the European Parliament)

17 Sept 2024 · Introductory meeting, discussing the starting term

Meeting with Eero Heinäluoma (Member of the European Parliament)

17 Sept 2024 · Current Affairs

Meeting with Anna-Maja Henriksson (Member of the European Parliament)

17 Sept 2024 · Climate and Competitiveness

Meeting with Elsi Katainen (Member of the European Parliament)

17 Sept 2024 · Tuleva kausi

Meeting with Dino Toljan (Cabinet of Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič)

25 Apr 2024 · Decarbonization in energy and maritime sectors

Meeting with Ditte Juul-Joergensen (Director-General Energy) and Transport and Environment (European Federation for Transport and Environment) and

8 Apr 2024 · Energy market

Meeting with Sabine Weyand (Director-General Trade)

11 Mar 2024 · Next EU Trade Policy Agenda

Meeting with Taneli Lahti (Cabinet of Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen) and Confederation of Finnish Industries EK and

11 Mar 2024 · Global Gateway

Meeting with Olivia Gippner (Cabinet of Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra) and Aula Europe

28 Nov 2023 · Energy and marine sector de-carbonization

Meeting with Elsi Katainen (Member of the European Parliament)

28 Nov 2023 · General maritime transport topics

Meeting with Taneli Lahti (Cabinet of Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen) and Aula Europe

31 May 2023 · Global Gateway

Meeting with Nils Torvalds (Member of the European Parliament)

31 May 2023 · Electricity market reform

Meeting with Elena Lizzi (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Aula Europe

27 Apr 2023 · Data Act

Meeting with Mauri Pekkarinen (Member of the European Parliament)

26 Apr 2023 · Meeting with Wärtsilä on Electricity Market Design

Meeting with Mauri Pekkarinen (Member of the European Parliament)

10 Mar 2023 · Visit to Wärtsilä Sustainable Technology HUB

Meeting with Daniel Mes (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans), Diederik Samsom (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and

28 Feb 2023 · IRA package and GD Industrial Plan, EU Green Deal

Meeting with Thomas Woolfson (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager) and SSAB AB and

28 Feb 2023 · European competitiveness and the Green Deal Industrial Plan

Meeting with Nils Torvalds (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

9 Feb 2023 · Energy industry, alternative fuels

Meeting with Ville Niinistö (Member of the European Parliament)

24 Jan 2023 · EMD

Meeting with Jerzy Buzek (Member of the European Parliament)

10 Jan 2023 · on the Electricity Market Design

Meeting with Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

10 Jan 2023 · Data Act

Meeting with Henna Virkkunen (Member of the European Parliament)

28 Nov 2022 · EU Transport Policy

Meeting with Henrik Hololei (Director-General Mobility and Transport)

24 Nov 2022 · 1) Fit for 55 package and shipping sector 2) EU financial instruments supporting the green and digital transition

Meeting with Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

27 Oct 2022 · Meeting on Data Act

Meeting with Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

8 Sept 2022 · Data Act

Meeting with Dārta Tentere (Cabinet of Commissioner Mairead Mcguinness) and Aula Europe

7 Sept 2022 · Sustainable finance taxonomy

Meeting with Suvi Leinonen (Cabinet of Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen) and Aula Europe

7 Sept 2022 · EU electricity market

Meeting with Elsi Katainen (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

6 Sept 2022 · FuelEU Maritime -initiative, other maritime-related initiatives

Meeting with Frans Timmermans (Executive Vice-President) and Neste Oyj and

9 Jun 2022 · climate leadership from businesses

Wrtsil seeks clarity on Data Act for maritime industry

13 May 2022
Topic — New EU rules aimed at facilitating fairer data access and use.
Message — Wrtsil requests that derived data be explicitly excluded from the regulation's scope. They also seek a clearer definition of a user within complex shipping contracts. Finally, they urge the Commission to address how rules apply to non-EU parties.123
Why — These clarifications would help the company protect its proprietary digital innovations.4
Impact — Non-EU service providers and shipowners would lose access to free engine data.5
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Meeting with Elsi Katainen (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

8 Apr 2022 · FuelEUMaritime, TENT-T

Meeting with Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur for opinion) and International Copper Association Europe

2 Feb 2022 · ETS revision

Meeting with Nils Torvalds (Member of the European Parliament)

1 Feb 2022 · Fit for 55

Meeting with Mauri Pekkarinen (Member of the European Parliament)

1 Feb 2022 · Discussion on Fit for 55

Meeting with Aleksandra Tomczak (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans), Diederik Samsom (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and Fortum Oyj

14 Dec 2021 · Taxonomy

Meeting with Thierry Breton (Commissioner) and

3 Jun 2021 · Clean Hydrogen Alliance; regulatory framework

Meeting with Henrik Hololei (Director-General Mobility and Transport)

19 May 2021 · EU policy initiatives related to maritime transport

Meeting with Taneli Lahti (Cabinet of Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen) and Aula Europe

7 Apr 2021 · State of Play of the Sustainable Finance Taxonomy

Response to Climate change mitigation and adaptation taxonomy

18 Dec 2020

Wärtsilä believes that the EU’s benchmark for sustainable economic activities needs a more holistic approach to enable the clean energy transition and achieve significant emission reductions in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. With its simplified sector-by-sector approach, the proposed taxonomy criteria risk being in contradiction with the EU’s energy system integration strategy. Many EU countries can already occasionally meet electricity demand with renewables. However, due to a lack of flexibility in the system, inflexible fossil fuel-based thermal generation cannot be turned off thus reducing the share of renewable generation in the power mix. This leads to emissions that can be avoided by improving the flexibility of the system with dispatchable engine power plants and/or through energy storage such as batteries. Both flexible thermal and battery storage solutions have their role in flexibility even in fully decarbonised system, where baseload electricity is generated by renewables. This option has a lower cost and can easily contribute to carbon neutrality together with decarbonized gases such as hydrogen and biofuels. The current Taxonomy does not support the pathway for the most cost efficient and quickest decarbonisation. DA-Climate Change mitigation: 4.7. Electricity generation from gaseous and liquid fuels We consider the proposed 100g CO2/kWh threshold to be too rigid to sufficiently support a credible transition path for decarbonising the energy sector. A static emissions threshold for gas-powered electricity (co-)generation does not adequately reflect the changing role of gas in the modern energy system, which is characterised by rapid ramping up and shutting down of generation to balance the power grid. To improve functionality of the taxonomy criteria in the energy sector, we propose an alternative threshold based on the 100g CO2/kWh limit to allow the taxonomy to better acknowledge the need of flexibility in a power system without increasing overall emissions. The new alternative threshold would set an annual sustainability threshold for flexible balancing by multiplying the static criteria with the hours of a year (100g CO2/kWh x 8760 hours = 876kg Co2/a per installed kW). Considering the limited running hours of flexible gas balancing in a year, this may even result in lower annual emissions than baseload running at the static threshold. This threshold for flexible gas would be in addition to the Commission’s proposed criteria gas-powered electricity generation, while the original 100g CO2/kWh static threshold would be maintained for baseload gas. DA-Climate Change mitigation: Manufacturing (Energy tech.) The lack of distinction between the responsibilities of low-carbon technology manufacturers and their customers is a concern. We see a risk that the transition-enabling manufacturers of efficient engine technologies are unfairly punished from the decisions of their customers, who operate the plants, to use fossil fuels even if they could run decarbonised and renewable fuels in the same engines. It is counterproductive to the objectives of the EGD, if the taxonomy discourages manufacturers from enabling their engines to also utilise bio- and synthetic fuels as well as hydrogen in an effort to foster a switch from fossil fuels. Fuel flexibility provides a credible pathway for decarbonisation. DA-Climate Change mitigation: Manufacturing (Transportation tech.) We are concerned about lack of clarity re: the inclusion of the key components (in Manufacturing of low carbon technologies for transport). Vessels include many key components, (engines, propulsion systems etc), which are crucial for performance and are typically manufactured by specialised global companies. DA-Climate Change mitigation: Sea and Coastal Freight Transportation The ultimate threshold calls for zero CO2 tailpipe emissions for Vessels. Climate neutral (bio and synthetic) fuels should be included into this category.
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Meeting with Taneli Lahti (Cabinet of Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen) and Aula Europe

22 Oct 2020 · Sustainable finance

Meeting with Andrea Beltramello (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis)

5 Oct 2020 · Sustainable finance taxonomy

Response to A EU hydrogen strategy

8 Jun 2020

Wärtsilä welcomes the Commission’s initiative to take stakeholders on board from the beginning in the process to create the EU’s future strategy on hydrogen. We stand ready to contribute to the clean energy transition and enable the meeting of the EU’s ambitions climate targets with innovative solutions on flexible power generation and maritime transport technology. To best enable a climate neutral future efficiently and cost-effectively, we see that a truly integrated European energy system would be based on a holistic, system wide approach and the principle of technological neutrality, taking into account the lifecycle emissions and costs of all technologies equally. Given the limited time we have to achieve significant emission reductions, all available solutions that contribute to climate change mitigation must be supported. With sufficient investments into new infrastructure, renewable gases can play an important role in decarbonizing many other sectors in addition to the production of energy. This warrants the establishment of robust EU-level measures to support scaling-up of the production, transport and distribution of renewable gases as well as technological innovation in the end-user side of the gas value chain. Therefore, the strategy on an integrated energy system needs to take into account that while traditional, inflexible gas power generation significantly decreases, the flexible gas balancing provided by modern facilities will remain an important enabler of the clean energy transition. Flexible gas engine power generation offers a readily available solution to support renewable energy sources, balance the grid, and provide security of supply in order to ensure a cost-effective and inclusive transition in all regions. Moreover, the existing technologies also enable the uptake of low-carbon bio- and synthetic gases, thus avoiding stranded assets, preventing a lock-in into fossil fuels in the long-term, resulting in even more significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decades. The gradual utilisation of hydrogen in blends is also possible as the gas becomes commercially available and cost-effective through scaled up production. Wärtsilä is committed in researching various future fuels, such as hydrogen, in order to provide customers with future-proof solutions to support the transition towards a 100% renewable energy future and helping decarbonise the planet. Wärtsilä has researched hydrogen as a fuel for 20 years; and is developing the combustion process in its gas engines to enable them to burn 100% hydrogen fuel. In addition, hydrogen can also be used as a blend with natural gas or act as a base for producing other renewable synthetic fuels, such as methane or methanol, while utilising existing infrastructure. Thus, in this stage it is important that the EU hydrogen strategy leaves the room for all the alternative fuel technologies to develop and mature. Wärtsilä would also be very keen on contributing to the work of the new European Clean Hydrogen Alliance which will be launched later this summer.
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Response to Climate Law

1 May 2020

Wärtsilä welcomes the Commission’s level of ambition and urgency of action to mitigate and adapt to the threat posed by climate change. Wärtsilä is ready to contribute to the transition and enable the meeting of the targets with innovative solutions on flexible power generation and maritime transport technology. For the industry to play a proactive role in this transformation, we request that the Commission works to ensure predictability and policy coherence between its long-term sustainability framework and existing EU legislation to present a credible, inclusive and feasible trajectory to successfully achieve the objective of climate-neutrality by 2050. With this in mind, Wärtsilä wholly supports setting out a plan for a binding transition that is both ‘irreversible and gradual’, as stated in Article 1 of the Commission’s proposal. Equally, we support the proposal’s recognition that the transition requires a contribution from all economic sectors and thus call for the Commission’s forthcoming climate action trajectory to strictly adhere to the principle of technological neutrality to ensure the most efficient and cost-effective transition to a decarbonised 2050. A level playing field is required to foster fairness and solidarity in this transition that affects us all. Given the limited time we have to achieve significant emission reductions, all available solutions that contribute to climate change mitigation must be supported. A holistic approach must be upheld to scrutinise life-cycle emission reductions and costs of the transition across the whole system. It is also vital that the transition adheres to the objectives of enhancing Europe’s economic competitiveness and ensuring access to ‘a sustainable, affordable and secure energy system relying on a well-functioning internal energy market’, as stated in Preamble 6 of the Climate Law proposal. An energy system based predominantly on renewable baseload generation needs flexible backup solutions for both grid-balancing and storage. These flexibility needs include daily variations handled by energy storage, longer duration system reliability provided by technologies such as highly efficient flexible gas engines (e.g. during calm dark periods in winter), and using fuel as a form of energy storage to balance season-to-season variations (e.g. power-to-gas technologies). Stranded assets are avoided as the infrastructure developed for LNG, biogas, and renewables is intended for the gradual deployment of more advanced sustainable fuels, such as hydrogen and synthetic gases, as they become commercially available and cost-effective on the mass-scale. As renewable capacity must be significantly overbuilt in order to reach high shares of renewable energy penetration into the energy mix due to their intermittency (e.g. 80% requires building capacity by a factor of 4 times the demand), utilising the right mix of renewable sources, storage capacity and gas balancing technologies ensures an optimised and most cost-effective transition. For example, a Wärtsilä case study on Germany demonstrates that an optimised mix including thermal balancing technologies in 100% renewable power system, lowers the costs drastically. Moreover, the European Green Deal pinpoints the transport sectors as particularly critical for the achievement of climate-neutrality by 2050 and calls for significant emission reductions and efficiency improvements. The EU’s long-term trajectory should therefore support LNG, biofuels and renewables to reach the 2030 target and then support the transition to more advanced sustainable technologies to meet the 2050 target. Beyond optimised vessel design and machinery, also digital optimisation of ship and port operations to achieve improved energy efficiency should be recognised. We cannot wait for a silver bullet. An effective and feasible regulatory framework needs to encompass all available, scalable, and cost-efficient solutions.
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Response to Climate change mitigation and adaptation taxonomy

27 Apr 2020

Wärtsilä believes that a whole-system approach is needed to enable the clean energy transition and achieve significant emission reductions in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. To reach these objectives, mindset changes are needed regarding how gas and electricity are treated in the EU taxonomy criteria. This is crucial, as the faster deployment of intermittent renewable energy sources increases also the demand for flexible balancing of the power system. Energy efficient gas balancing technologies will therefore play a key role in securing the robustness and resilience of European energy system for years to come. Development of flexible gas capacity is foreseen to increase rapidly to enable the energy transition and eliminate coal-dependency in power generation. This new gas capacity will not be traditional baseload gas plants, but rather decentralised and flexible gas plants with few operating hours per year. The dynamic properties of modern flexible gas technology allow for quick ramping up and down of load by starting and stopping within minutes. The supporting thermal fleet will only run when needed, which means that they will not hinder the deployment of intermittent renewable sources in the energy system. To reach a clean future based on renewable energy sources it is necessary to overbuild renewable capacity, resulting in occasional excess electricity. To use this excess effectively, we must rethink how we treat electricity. Today electricity is an end-product, but in the future electricity will become a raw material for produce e.g hydrogen or synthetic gases for energy-intensive sectors. Power-to-gas technology will allow the abovementioned flexible gas plants to become CO2 neutral. The flexible gas plants built now will not become stranded assets in the future but have a credible path towards the EU’s 2050 objectives. The sustainability criteria must take into account the complete system-wide picture to drive significant CO2 emission reductions, instead of scrutinising each economic activity in isolation. To be credible and practically feasible, it must take into account not only the different starting points of the Member States towards climate-neutrality but also competitiveness of European industry, ability of the energy system to meet demand at all times, as well as access to secure and affordable energy to ensure that the transition is fair and just for everyone. All these elements must be well understood and taken on board in order to successfully redirect investment into all technologies that reduce CO2 emissions and contribute to a high utilisation of renewable energy. Only focusing on certain aspects can be counterproductive. This is why the technical screening criteria must adhere to the principle of technological neutrality, as required by Article 14 of the primary regulation (2018/0178(COD)). To maintain Europe’s competitiveness and energy affordability, investments should be redirected to all solutions that lead to emission reductions, improve system reliability, and support interconnectivity of the European energy infrastructure. Wärtsilä calls for a holistic approach to the sustainable finance taxonomy technical screening criteria and for the Commission to look equally at all solutions that contribute to achieving the energy, climate, and environmental targets of the EU. For fairness and credibility of the taxonomy, a level playing field must be ensured in the delegated acts.
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Response to FuelEU Maritime

24 Apr 2020

Wärtsilä welcomes the Commission’s action to foster emissions reductions in maritime transport. Wärtsilä is ready to contribute to the transition and enable the meeting of ambitious targets with innovative solutions on maritime sector technology. For the industry to play a proactive role in this transformation, however, we request that the Commission works to ensure predictability and policy coherence between the EU’s long-term sustainability framework and existing legislation to foster a credible and inclusive regulation to successfully achieve emission cuts wherever possible across the whole system. Given the limited time we have to address emissions and enable the gradual transition towards our common 2030 and 2050 climate objectives, all solutions must be supported to drive lower carbon activity. We cannot wait for a silver bullet. An effective and feasible regulatory framework needs to encompass all available, scalable, and cost-efficient solutions. As the inception impact assessment roadmap acknowledges, LNG substantially contributes to reducing pollution in ports in particular. Crucially, it eliminates sulphur oxide (SOX) and nitrous oxide (NOX) emissions by 99% and 85%, respectively, compared to heavy crude oil, while also reducing CO2 emissions by over a quarter. This is important part of the current stage of the transition to sustainable mobility that needs to be complemented with EU-level fostering of innovation and uptake of efficient technologies going forward. Modern dual fuel engines are fuel flexible, which also erase the risk of stranded assets in the maritime sector, as they are compatible with the deployment of sustainable alternative fuels, such as biofuels and synthetic gases, as these are incentivised and gradually scaled up. Wärtsilä is actively working on developing the use of alternative, commercially viable and environmentally friendly fuels (e.g. power to X, ammonia and hydrogen) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the shipping and energy sectors. Wärtsilä has recently started engine testing with ammonia. The same applies for other existing gas sector assets and infrastructure. In order to bring clarity to the industry, the EU’s long-term plan should therefore incorporate LGN, biofuels and renewables to reach the 2030 target and then support the transition to more advanced sustainable technologies to meet the 2050 decarbonisation target. It should be noted that 2050 decarbonisation targets require technologies for new fuels to be developed, technologies that do not exist today and those need to come gradually in use from 2030 already. Furthermore, it should be noted that a holistic approach to decarbonisation needs to take into account solutions that improve efficiency in the maritime sector. Beyond optimised vessel design and machinery, this means that digital optimisation of ship and port operations should be incentivised by the Commission to drive down emissions. Data must be harnessed to successfully transition to long-term sustainability and maritime decarbonisation. It is one thing to reduce emissions through uptake of alternative fuels, but this should be coupled with efficient technologies to reduce overall fuel consumption in the first place. Our digital ‘Just-in-Time’ solutions to optimise a vessel’s voyage and cut waiting times at ports to reduce unnecessary idling enable such fuel-saving efficiency cost-effectively. In addition to policy consistency and a holistic approach, Wärtsilä calls for the Commission to work with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to ensure a global approach on the sector that is inherently international. The IMO is committed to halving global maritime emissions by 2050, which on a vessel-level means 70-80% reductions due to the expected growth in global shipping over the coming decades.
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Response to Climate Law

6 Feb 2020

Wärtsilä welcomes the Commission’s level of ambition in acting to mitigate and adapt to the threat posed by climate change. Wärtsilä is ready to contribute to the transition to reach these targets with innovative solutions on flexible power generation and maritime transport technology. To ensure that the industry can play a proactive role in this transformation, we hope that the Commission works to maintain predictability and investment security with a long-term policy framework enabling the successful achievement of the climate objectives set out in this legislation. Wärtsilä supports setting out conditions for an effective and fair transition, while maintain the competitiveness of the EU industry, security of supply, and affordability of energy in the European Union as outlined in the roadmap. Optimising the transition to cover the stated parameters requires a balanced energy mix of solar, wind, storage, and flexible gas power generation. According to a Wärtsilä case study on Germany, the optimised transition to a fully decarbonised EU economy would be over 5-times cheaper per MWh when compared to only using solar power and storage to achieve the exact same goal. In particular, the intermittency of renewable energy generation necessitates the presence of dynamic power plants with the shortest possible activation and de-activation times. Flexible gas engine power generation offers a readily available solution to support renewable energy sources, balance the grid, and provide security of supply in order to ensure a cost-effective transition. Furthermore, the existing technology also enables the uptake of bio- and synthetic gases, thus avoiding stranded assets, preventing a lock-in to fossil fuels in the long-term, and enabling even more significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. A whole system approach is thus needed to effectively assess the components of an optimal transition to climate-neutrality by 2050. A holistic approach is also needed to decarbonise the European shipping sector. The demand for cargo transportation by sea is expected to increase the number of vessels through to 2050, and Wärtsilä is already working to support the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) target to cut the emissions from international shipping by 50% by 2050, as well as reduce nitrogen and sulphur oxide pollution by switching heavy crude oil to LNG. The use of readily available data and digital solutions in operation and energy efficiency measures will further reduce the emissions of the maritime sector. Thank you for taking the time to listen to our feedback. Wärtsilä looks forward to supporting the Commission with the common ambition to achieve climate neutrality with the most effective, secure, and cost-efficient way possible.
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Meeting with Arto Virtanen (Cabinet of Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen) and Aula Europe

16 Jan 2020 · Green Deal communication

Meeting with Daniel Mes (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

16 Jan 2020 · Green Deal and industrial strategy

Meeting with Jyrki Katainen (Vice-President)

2 Oct 2019 · Sustainable finance & decarbonising maritime transport

Meeting with Grzegorz Radziejewski (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen) and Aula Europe

9 Oct 2018 · future of Energy Union

Meeting with Risto Artjoki (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen) and Aula Europe

24 May 2018 · Energy policy

Meeting with Henrik Hololei (Director-General Mobility and Transport)

11 Jan 2018 · Digitalisation of maritime transport

Meeting with Juhan Lepassaar (Cabinet of Vice-President Andrus Ansip), Maximilian Strotmann (Cabinet of Vice-President Andrus Ansip)

26 Oct 2017 · European maritime transport policy, digitalisation

Meeting with Andras Inotai (Cabinet of Vice-President Karmenu Vella), Juergen Mueller (Cabinet of Vice-President Karmenu Vella)

26 Oct 2017 · Blue growth

Meeting with Juho Romakkaniemi (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen) and Aula Europe

26 Oct 2017 · Maritime, data policies

Meeting with Henrik Hololei (Director-General Mobility and Transport)

26 Oct 2017 · Digitalisation and Autonomous Ships

Meeting with Juraj Nociar (Cabinet of Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič)

12 Oct 2016 · Energy Union

Meeting with Jyrki Katainen (Vice-President) and Aula Europe

26 May 2016 · decarbonising transport

Meeting with Joachim Balke (Cabinet of Vice-President Miguel Arias Cañete)

24 May 2016 · Market design