Chartwell Marine gets UK funding to develop methanol-fuelled vessel design

Innovate UK, the UK's funding agency has granted funds worth £320,000 ($390,000) to vessel designer Chartwell Marine to explore and develop a methanol-fuelled vessel design.

PHOTO: A concept model of Chartwell Marine’s methanol-fuelled vessel. Chartwell Marine

The Innovate UK Smart Grant will enable Chartwell Marine and its consortium partners - UK-based electronics company Boat Electric & Electronics and marine manufacturing firm Engineered Marine Systems - to test the feasibility of a methanol-fuelled vessel design for use in the offshore wind, commercial workboat and leisure sectors.

Chartwell Marine’s director and naval architect Andy Page believes this to be “a great starting point to take methanol forward in a meaningful way and cut through some of the challenges we’ve seen in the development of alternative fuels, which may be a long time from full viability.”

Page acknowledges the hurdles of utilising methanol like “lack of refuelling infrastructure onshore, weight issues, and fully efficient conversion to energy” but believes “with the right investment and build partners” these can be overcome to create a methanol-fulled vessel that is “cost-effective, well-engineered and hydrodynamically optimised for deployment worldwide.”

Methanol has been gaining increasing traction among shipowners and operators as an alternative fuel choice to reduce emissions.

Classification society DNV’s data shows that the number of methanol-fuelled vessels in operation or on order is projected to more than double in the next few years. 82 methanol-powered vessels are registered as in operation or on order towards 2028, compared to 30 currently.

By Tuhin Roy

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