The Week in Alternative Fuels
Here are some key developments in alternative bunker fuels from the past week.
PHOTO: Ship convoy passing through Suez Canal, Egypt. Getty Images
Several industry groups and experts advocate a "mixed fuel future" to reduce carbon emissions from shipping. This week's headlines featured both ammonia and methanol once again.
When it comes to larger vessels like very large crude carriers (VLCCs), methanol has a clear leg up on ammonia in terms of engine readiness. ENGINE learnt from engine manufacturers MAN Energy Solutions and Wärtsilä that two-stroke dual-fuel methanol engines for VLCCs have already hit the market, while the first ammonia engine for a VLCC could be launched by Wartsila in 2025 at the earliest.
Wärtsilä's 2025 launch date coincides with the launch of a Japanese consortium's ammonia-powered two-stroke engine in 2025. NYK Line, IHI Power Systems, Nihon Shipyard, Japan Engine Corporation and ClassNK have formed an alliance to conduct co-firing tests on an ammonia engine. They will evaluate the engine's performance, emissions and efficiency when ammonia-to-diesel ratios are varied.
In the meantime, the alternative marine fuel industry's supply side is preparing for demand when engine and vessel technologies mature to take on new fuels. This week highlighted Egypt and Norway in the supplier race, both of which are developing green ammonia and green methanol supply chains.
Egypt's Alexandria National Refining and Petrochemical Company and Norwegian renewable energy producer Scatec will produce 40,000 mt/year of bio-methanol as a marine fuel near Egypt's Damietta Port, with potential to expand to 200,000 mt/year.
Another Egyptian firm, ammonia trader Freepan Holdings, will source 800,000 mt/year of green ammonia from Germany's DAI Infrastructure, and supply it to ships transiting the Suez Canal. DAI is building a green ammonia plant of its own in East Port Said in Egypt, which will have capacity to produce 1.6 million mt/year by 2028. The facility's capacity can be expanded to 2 million mt/year if necessary.
Big oil firm ExxonMobil and a Norwegian trio plan to produce and distribute up to 100,000 mt/year of green ammonia as marine fuel in Slagen port in Norway. The trio consists of Grieg Edge, the maritime-dedicated innovation unit of Grieg Maritime Group, ammonia producer North Ammonia and hydrogen infrastructure developer GreenH.
By Konica Bhatt
Here is our selection of top five alternative fuels stories from this week:
Explainer: Methanol- and ammonia-fuelled engines for VLCCs
Japanese consortium starts fuel trials on ammonia-fuelled marine engine
Egypt and Norway to jointly produce bio-methanol as a marine fuel
Egyptian firm to supply green ammonia to vessels in the Suez
