Tag: alternative fuels

As the 2020 sulphur cap is approaching, the shipping industry needs to move to renewable and alternative fuels to reduce the sector’s impact on the environment. However, according to a study by researchers at The University of Manchester, published  in the Journal of Cleaner Production says that there is no widely available fuel to manage climate change and local pollutants.

During his presentation at GREEN4SEA Conference, Mr. Aleksey Nikulin, Chief Technology Officer, Humble Energy, noted that a greener and cheaper fuel alternative is available to the shipping industry using current technology. Humble Energy’s initiative builds on their extensive Energy from Waste expertise and research into solid fuel propulsion systems that use Solid Recovered Fuel Energy Pellets.

The Port of Amsterdam constructs a new facility that will convert non-recyclable plastic into fuel for the transport sector, which will reduce CO2 emission by 57,000 tonnes per year. The plant will be built in collaboration with Port of Amsterdam and is expected to running by the end of this year. The first plant will produce more than 30m litres of fuel per year.

The Diesel Technology Forum and the Environmental Defense Fund released a report highlighting the emission reduction benefits that can be offered by the latest clean diesel models. The joint research estimates that replacing older engines in a tug boat with the latest clean diesel model that meets the latest emissions milestones can reduce on average 14.9 tons of NOx emissions per year.

With the IMO regulations coming in 2020 about the sulphur cap, US refiners are preparing for the shift in the ship fuel supply. That change will increase demand for low sulphur fuels, and US refiners are ready to capture about 3m bbl/day global marine fuel market. Namely, across many US refiner’s earnings, distillate yields will be increased.

Scrubbers as a measure to comply with the sulphur cap in 2020 would be a quick fix, according to Wartsila's director of exhaust gas cleaning, Sigurd Jenssen, and more drastic measures are needed. Mr. Jenssen said that equipping 2,000-3,000 ships with scrubbers by 2020 can be done. But with a global fleet of about 60,000 vessels, many of them will have to use cleaner fuels.

DNV GL issued a white paper assessing alternative fuels and technologies, taking a look at the price, availability, regulatory challenges and noting that the majority of ships that use conventional fuels will either switch to low sulphur conventional fuels, or use a scrubber system while continuing to use HFO.

Global marine fuel costs are likely to rise by 25%, or $24 billion, upon the IMO sulphur cap gets in effect in 2020, Wood Mackenzie consultant said. As explained, the cost will rise as the upcoming regulations will a switch to other fuels, which are low-sulphur but cost more, such as MGO and ultra low sulfur fuel oil.

As the shipping industry needs to move to renewable and alternative fuels to reduce environmental footprint, there is no widely available fuel to manage climate change and local pollutants, according to a study by University of Manchester. Some of the alternative fuel options analysed have the potential, but only if key barriers can be overcome.

Faced with a decision with huge cost implications, shipowners are considering all options on how to tackle sulphur emissions. Although any possible delay was ruled out during IMO MEPC 71, industry stakeholders think that a postponement of the 2020 deadline is possible, likewise the time extension of the BWM Convention.