Available stock: 230 tCO₂e

New types of hull coatings are being developed for ships that make them more energy efficient by making their surfaces very slippery. These coatings are so effective that barnacles, tubeworms, and other organisms can't attach to the hull. It's similar to a nonstick frying pan, chemically speaking. This innovation, called Intersleek and developed by AkzoNobel, a Dutch paint and coatings company, significantly reduces drag caused by these organisms on the ship's hull. As a result, ships use much less fuel. For instance, the first ship to use these coatings avoided emitting 17,168 metric tons of carbon dioxide over 20 months due to reduced fuel consumption. To generate the same amount of CO2, you would need to drive an average car more than 4 million miles. This is important because international shipping contributes about 3% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. So, making ships more efficient could have a notable positive impact on the environment.

Another advantage of these new coatings is that they replace older hull coatings that use biocides, chemicals that attempt to prevent organisms from attaching by killing them. The new Intersleek coatings do not contain biocides, reducing potential harm to marine ecosystems.