Danish demonstration projects as drivers of maritime energy efficient technologies

Demonstration projects make it possible to test and develop technologies from other sectors. The test of energy efficient technologies contributes to changing the mindsets of the users of the technologies and thereby changing the practices on board the vessels. The potentials for developing and testing technologies in multi-party networks and the economic funding that reduces the economic risks of the involved actors are the main drivers in the demonstration projects. The main barriers, on the other hand, are the existing energy management practices in the sector and the uneven economic risks of the actors involved in the projects. Our results contribute to the understanding of how demonstration projects in the maritime sector are in an early stage of the innovation process where prototypes are not yet developed. The demonstration projects create an opportunity for non-maritime actors to enter the somewhat closed cyclic collaborations in the maritime sector.