The Week in Alternative Fuels 3 November 2023
Some shipping stakeholders are investing in green ammonia and methanol R&D, and developing vessels that can use them. But many projects seem more aspirational than real as they lack clear commercial launch timelines.
PHOTO: A.P. Moller-Maersk's 2,100 TEU dual-fuel methanol feeder vessel, Laura Maersk. Maersk
With COP28 coming up this month, 131 companies across multiple industries have called on summit participants to encourage the shift from fossil fuels to clean fuels. Global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions should be halved by 2030 and eliminated by 2050, they said. The signatories include wind energy major Ørsted, renewable energy producer Iberdrola, marine equipment manufacturer Alfa Laval, retail major IKEA, consumer goods companies Unilever, Nestle and Godrej, and others.
The 131 firms have more than $1 trillion/year in combined revenue. Their rallying call could boost efforts to drive up demand for alternative marine fuels like green ammonia and green methanol. Meanwhile, players in the maritime industry have been preparing for the impending transition to green marine fuels by investing in research and development (R&D) of cleaner fuels and vessels.
Japan’s Itochu Corporation and Orascom Construction have set out to develop an integrated ammonia bunkering supply chain in Egypt's Suez Canal. They will build ammonia-fuelled cargo and container ships, develop bunkering infrastructure and procure fuel for the vessels. Going beyond Egypt, Itochu aims to develop bunkering infrastructure in several European ports, the Panama Canal, Japan and other areas, but it has not yet announced a timeline for its project.
Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk’s (Maersk) green methanol arm C2X will build a 1 million mt/year green methanol plant in the Spanish Port of Huelva. However, C2X has not yet announced a deadline for the plant's completion. Some of the production volumes will be supplied to the shipping sector as bunker fuel, and primarily to fuel Maersk’s growing fleet of methanol-powered vessels.
Singapore-based dry bulk and tanker firm Stamford Shipping and Danish maritime firm Green Marine have joined hands to build and manage dual-fuel methanol vessels, but the companies have yet to say when they plan to launch the vessels. Green Marine believes technologies to utilise methanol as fuel are available now and can deliver “an immediate economic solution to reduce CO2 and NOx emissions, and to virtually eliminate SOx and particulate matters emissions.”
Green ammonia and green methanol are often touted as fuels with zero-emission potential. However, it is necessary to use a pilot fuel, such as diesel or biofuel, to ignite these fuels in current combustion engines. This means they will still emit some CO2 emissions. And for this reason, South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean has designed an onboard CO2 capture system (OCCS) that could prevent unwanted CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere. This OCCS has now received approval in principle from the classification society Korean Register (KR).
However, it is important to note that the carbon capture rate of OCCS will depend on the type of fuel used to power the vessel, and on the energy required to run the carbon capture system itself. For instance, Wärtsilä has developed an OCCS designed to achieve a minimum CO2 capture rate of 70% “with potential to reach 80%” depending on whether the vessel uses fossil fuel or low- and zero-emission fuels.
By Konica Bhatt
Here is our selection of top five alternative fuels stories from this week:
Major global firms to push for fossil fuel phase-out at COP28 summit
Itochu, Orascom collaborate to develop ammonia bunkering in Egypt
Maersk arm C2X to set up green methanol plant in Port of Huelva
Stamford Shipping and Green Marine partner to build methanol dual-fuel vessels
