The Week in Alternative Fuels
Here are some of the key developments in alternative bunker fuels from the past week.
PHOTO: Concept design of the Energy Observer 2. Kadeg Boucher and JB Epron Design
A new report by Ricardo and Environmental Defense Fund has found that green hydrogen and ammonia will play a critical role in decarbonisation of the shipping industry and that Mexico is well-placed to scale bunker supply.
Shipping project Energy Observer has unveiled autonomous laboratory vessel Energy Observer 2 that can produce the hydrogen it consumes from surplus renewable energy. Shell and GTT will jointly develop a liquid hydrogen transport network and Hamburg Port Authority has partnered Air Products to establish a sustainable hydrogen supply chain in northern Germany and the Free Hanseatic State of Hamburg.
Seoul-based Doosan Fuel Cell has partnered with supermajor Shell and Korean Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering to develop low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) for ships. Meanwhile, the UK government plans to explore shore power options to rein in port emissions.
Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine has received orders for five LNG carriers this year.
Varo Energy supplied the first 100% biofuel stem to Unifeeder vessel Elbsummer in the Port of Rotterdam. TFG Marine has supplied a B30 biofuel-VLSFO blend with carbon offsets to one of Western Bulk Chartering's vessels and Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) has successfully completed biodiesel trials on its bunkering vessel.
Here are the top five stories in alternative fuels this week:
New study predicts Mexico as a future alternative fuel bunker hub
A new report by Ricardo and Environmental Defense Fund has found that green hydrogen and ammonia will play a critical role in decarbonisation of the shipping industry and that Mexico is well-placed to scale bunker supply.
Mexico has committed to slash its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 22% by the end of the decade, and by 50% by 2050. The adoption of zero-carbon fuels in its shipping industry could be key to reach these targets, the report says.
Even though blue hydrogen and ammonia have the potential to emit less carbon dioxide than conventional bunker fuels, carbon-capture technologies needed to produce these fuels are unlikely to be viable at an industrial scale this decade, it argues.
It puts green ammonia and hydrogen produced with renewable energy forms forward as more promising future fuels, particularly in Mexico which has access to abundant renewable energy.
Mexico has enough renewable energy to supply electricity to the domestic grid and produce zero-carbon fuels for bunkering, the report says. Production plants around the country's largest port, Manzanillo, can tap into solar energy resources to produce electrofuels like green ammonia and hydrogen. These fuels can be supplied to tankers, container ships and bulk carriers calling at the port or be exported to international markets.
It also highlights the country's experience in handling ammonia from its agricultural sector.
Mexico's proximity to important trading partners in North America, as well as trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic markets in Asia, Africa and Europe can strengthen its position as a global bunker hub.
Energy Observer unveils hydrogen-powered demo ship this week
French renewable shipping project Energy Observer is developing an autonomous laboratory vessel that can produce the hydrogen it consumes from surplus renewable energy.
The company says hydrogen ship technology and supply chain infrastructure is maturing, with liquid hydrogen storage tanks, liquifiers around the world and fuel cells scaling up.
Its hydrogen-fuelled cargo ship Energy Observer 2 now looks to take on challenges around handling hydrogen at cryogenic temperatures and storing it large tanks onboard ships.
The Energy Observer 2 is a 5,000 dwt multi-purpose cargo ship with a range of 4,000 nautical miles. It can sail intercontinental and coastal routes, the company says.
"With this demonstrator ship, we want to go all the way in decarbonizing medium-sized industrial ships, using hydrogen directly as a fuel," says Energy Observer president and founder Victorien Erussard.
To develop next-generation hydrogen-fuelled cargo ships, Energy Observer has partnered with CMA CGM and other industry players.
In addition to ongoing commitments to biofuels and methanol, we also aim to establish ourselves in hydrogen through industrial partners, says CMA CGM.
Meanwhile, Energy giant Shell and French engineering company GTT have agreed to cooperate in the development of a hydrogen transport network. They intend to draw on GTT’s already established preliminary designs for LH2 carriers and LH2 cargo containment systems for mid-size LH2 carriers.
The Hamburg Port Authority has signed a memorandum of understanding with industrial gas company Air Products to establish a sustainable hydrogen supply chain network in northern Germany and the Free Hanseatic State of Hamburg.
Trio sets out to scale ‘low temperature’ marine fuel cells
Seoul-based Doosan Fuel Cell has partnered with supermajor Shell and Korean Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (KSOE) to develop low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) for ships.
Doosan aims to produce SOFCs that run at 620℃, which is nearly 200℃ lower temperature than conventional SOFCs. These kinds of fuel cells rely on extremely high heat to minimise voltage drop across the circuit.
SOFCs can turn chemical energy derived from fuels such as hydrogen and methane into electrical energy.
Doosan eyes certification for the cells by 2024 and plans to commercialise them by 2025.
Under the partnership, Doosan will develop, manufacture, supply and provide maintenance for these SOFCs. Shell will be responsible for ship operation. KSOE, a unit of Hyundai Heavy Industries, will install the SOFCs on vessels, and modify them for use in the marine sector.
The consortium will trial a vessel run on a 600 kilowatt fuel cell for one year on shipping routes to “develop an optimal system,” Doosan says.
Doosan expects SOFCs to be available for maritime use as an alternative source of green energy by 2030.
In January last year, the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) granted in-principle approval to Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering’s SFOC technology.
Meanwhile, the UK government has announced plans to introduce emission-cutting shore power its ports and calls for more evidence.
“Shore power will end the outdated practice of ships keeping their engines running while anchored in port, reducing the poisonous fumes entering the air and ensuring we meet our net zero 2050 goals,” the UK's Maritime Minister Robert Courts says.
Daewoo Shipbuilding receives orders for five LNG carriers
Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine has delivered nearly 25% of the 686 LNG carriers in operation as of January this year, it says citing Clarkson Research data.
The company has seen a massive rise in demand for LNG carriers. It received more orders for LNG carriers in the first month this year than the orders coming in in the whole of the first quarter last year, Daewoo says.
Two of the newly ordered 174,000 cbm-capacity LNG carriers have been commissioned by Maran Gas Maritime, a unit of the Greece’s Angelicoussis Shipping Group. These vessels will be delivered in the second half of 2025. Six container ships were also part of the order.
Daewoo expects LNG carrier demand to rise in line with global decarbonisation frameworks.
While LNG can curb carbon dioxide emissions by about a quarter compared to conventional bunker fuels, its methane emissions can be 36 times more potent as a greenhouse gas compared to carbon dioxide over a century, according to a World Bank study.
Last month, Daewoo’s South Korean peer Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries received an order for six LNG-fuelled vessels from a European vessel operator.
Varo Energy supplies first 100% biofuel stem to Unifeeder vessel
The Unifeeder-operated vessel Elbsummer was bunkered with a 400 mt B100 stem from Varo in the Port of Rotterdam.
Varo Energy claims that its B100 waste-based biofuel can reduces carbon dioxide emissions by up to 90% on a well-to-exhaust basis, and eliminate sulphur oxide emissions almost entirely.
Elbsummer trialed a B50 biofuel-MGO blend supplied by GoodFuels last September, and has since been undergoing a "major engine overhaul" to prepare it to consume 100% biofuel.
Unifeeder seeks to take up biofuel across its fleet within the year, according to the company's fuel supply director Hans Staal.
Rotterdam included bio-bunkers in its sales figures for the first time last year. Sales more than doubled from 52,000 mt in the first quarter, to 127,000 mt in the fourth.
Earlier,global bunker supplier TFG Marine supplied a B30 biofuel-VLSFO blend with carbon offsets to Western Bulk Chartering's bulk carrier, the Beks Ceyda in the Port of Rotterdam.
Japanese shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) has successfully completed biodiesel trials on its bunkering vessel. The fuel contained more than 30% biofuel, a first in Japan, and is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 25-30%, says MOL.
