The best opportunities for decarbonization of shipping lie in finding new sustainable energy sources, says a new study by Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller – Maersk and Lloyds Register which identifies alcohol, biomethane, and ammonia as the best positioned fuels for research and development into net zero fuels.
While energy efficiency has been and still is an important tool for Maersk to reduce CO2 emissions, getting to net zero requires a total shift in the way deep sea vessels are propelled, with the introduction of carbon neutral propulsion fuels and new technologies.
The main challenge is not at sea but on land. Technology changes inside the vessels are minor when compared to the massive innovative solutions and fuel transformation that must be found to produce and distribute sustainable energy sources on a global scale. We need to have a commercially viable carbon neutral vessel in service 11 years from now,
…explains Søren Toft, Maersk Chief Operating Officer.
These three fuel pathways have relatively similar cost projections but different challenges and opportunities. According to Mr. Toft, the new study will spend 80% of its focus on these these working hypothesis and will keep the remaining 20% to look at other options.
As explained, alcohols (ethanol & methanol) are not a highly toxic liquid with various possible production pathways – directly from biomass and/or via renewable hydrogen combined with carbon from either biomass or carbon capture.
Existing solutions for handling the low flash point and for burning alcohols are well proven. Ethanol and methanol are fully mixable in the vessel’s bunker tanks, creating bunkering flexibility.
However, the transition of the industry towards alcohol-based solutions is yet to be defined.
Biomethane on the other hand has a potential smooth transition given existing technology and infrastructure. The challenge however is ‘methane slip’ – the emission of unburned methane along the entire supply chain.
Ammonia is truly carbon free and can be produced from renewable electricity.
The energy conversion rate of this system is higher than that of biomaterial-based systems, but the production pathway cannot tap into potential energy sources as e.g. waste biomass.
The main challenge for ammonia is that it is highly toxic and even small accidents can create major risks to the crew and the environment.
The transition from current to future applications is also a huge challenge for ammonia.
According to Maersk and Lloyds Register, batteries and fuel cells are unlikely to have an immediate role in propelling commercially viable carbon neutral deep-sea vessels.
The next decade requires industry collaboration as shipping considers its decarbonisation options and looks closely at the potential of fuels like alcohol, biomethane and ammonia. This joint modelling exercise between Lloyd’s Register and Maersk indicates that shipowners must invest for fuel flexibility and it is also clear that this transition presents more of an operating expenditure rather than capital expenditure challenge,
…says LR CEO Alastair Marsh.
An IMO symposium on sulphur 2020 and alternative fuels heard on 18 October stressed that ammonia and hydrogen are promising potential fuels of the future in a decarbonized shipping industry.
Shipping is responsible for 2-3% of GHG emissions, so the industry has significant potential to help create a carbon-neutral economy by 2050.