The Week in Alternative Fuels
Green fuel supply stories dominated alternative fuel headlines this week.
PHOTO: Concept design developed as part of an ABS study on nuclear propulsion for commercial vessels. ABS
Be it in Christopher Nolan's latest movie Oppenheimer, or its growing acceptance as an alternative power source for commercial shipping, nuclear power grabbed this week's headlines.
The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) commissioned US-based ship designer Herbert Engineering (HEC) to evaluate the feasibility of using small nuclear reactors for commercial marine propulsion. HEC concluded from two separate studies that vessels powered by nuclear reactors can operate for 25 years without refuelling, while achieving improved performance.
Meanwhile, an Italian trio of nuclear tech firm Newcleo, shipbuilder Fincantieri and classification society RINA agreed to study how nuclear power technology can be used for marine propulsion. The partners will study whether Newcleo's "lead-cooled fast" nuclear reactor - which uses nuclear waste as fuel - could be used to substitute fossil fuels as an alternative power source in larger marine vessels.
The second alternative fuel in the spotlight this week was methanol, with fuel producers planning new green methanol plants to meet growing demand from shipping and other industries.
Total Eren, owned by French oil and gas major TotalEnergies, joined forces with Finnish green fuel producer Aliceco Energy to build an e-methanol production plant with up to 400,000 mt/year capacity in Finland. Production will begin in 2029, with a large portion of the output earmarked for shipping.
Meanwhile, US-based SunGas Renewables will build a second bio-methanol production facility capable of producing nearly 400,000 mt/year to fuel A.P. Moller-Maersk's fleet of methanol-powered vessels. Danish shipping major Maersk has already agreed to source 390,000 mt/year of bio-methanol from SunGas Renewables’ first production unit in the US.
Biogenic CO2 captured through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is expected to have an increasingly important role in the marine fuel industry because it can be used as a feedstock to produce e-methanol for ships.
The makers of an upcoming Swedish carbon capture plant said it will “be one of Europe’s first large-scale plants to generate negative emissions." Italian multinational Saipem and energy provider Stockholm Exergi will build the plant in Stockholm to capture and store around 800,000 mt/year of biogenic CO2. They wil also build a storage facility and a system for loading it on ships for transportation.
By Konica Bhatt
Here is our selection of top five alternative fuels stories from this week:
ABS looks into nuclear propulsion for commercial vessels
Italian trio to explore 'commercial nuclear marine propulsion'
Upcoming e-methanol plant in Finland to power shipping
