Plug and sail: A closer look at Norway's electric maritime turn

With a seafaring legacy stretching back to the age of the Vikings, Norway is no stranger to charting a firm course ahead. This time, the ships are sailing toward a zero-emission future.As the nation continues solidifying its role as a front-runner in sustainable maritime operations, momentum keeps building around autonomous shipping, electric propulsion and clean vessel technologies, underlined by policy support and industry (re)alignments.

Norway, the world’s fifth largest shipping nation, has had a “unique” starting point when it comes to the energy transition, considering an abundance of available and relatively affordable green power (such as hydropower). This has enabled the country to electrify a great number of homes and businesses with solutions that produce limited greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

On top of that, as a significant exporter of oil and gas, Norway has been, in many ways, the ‘backbone’ of Europe, having exported a total of 117.6 billion cubic meters of gas via pipelines in 2024, according to Gassco, a state-owned oil and gas player.

Through nationally determined contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement, the country