The Week in Alternative Fuels
Here are some of the key developments in alternative bunker fuels from the past week.
PHOTO: Under the H2Sines.RDAM project the consortium aims to transport Portuguese hydrogen to the Netherlands. Anthony Veder
The European Commission approved the Hy2Tech project this week, in a move to advance technological development and support a hydrogen value chain. Under the project the Commission try to facilitate breakthroughs in hydrogen technologies, including electrode material, fuel cells and transportation.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has forced Europe rethink its energy dependence and speed up diversification towards renewable energy sources.
Oil supermajor Shell and a group of its partners announced a plan to develop a hydrogen supply network between Portugal and Netherlands. Under the H2Sines.RDAM project, Shell aims to transport 100/mt of liquified hydrogen produced at Portugal’s Sines plant to Rotterdam by 2027.
With potential carbon pricing and stricter emissions regulations on the horizon, many players in the shipping industry have been exploring technologies to curb carbon dioxide emission. Expleo announced it has developed e-methanol fuel cells to power ships, which it claims can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 92%.
Norway-based shipowner Ocean Yield has ordered a second 5,500 TEU container vessel that can run on methanol. Both vessels will be built by South Korea’s HJ Shipbuilding with deliveries in 2023.
In what it calls a breakthrough in battery-propulsion technology, UK-based Alsym Energy has developed ‘low cost’, non-inflammable batteries for installation on ships. The batteries are compatible with tankers and other cargo ship. Shipping firms Synergy Marine and Nissen Kaiun have placed orders for these batteries, with deliveries expected from 2025.
A study by Nature Energy Journal has revealed that batteries can efficiently power container ships with minimal impact on their carrying capacity. Nature Energy claims battery-driven propulsion can reduce carbon dioxide emissions from US-based container ships by 14%, and by over 40% from ships on global routes.
According to data firm VesselsValue, more than 75% of cargo ships will not be compliant with IMO's Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI). The EEXI will be introduced next year by International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to curb greenhouse gas emissions from ships. Though newbuilds are expected to be EEXI compliant, VesselsValue doubts many existing vessels will fail to comply.
A whitepaper released by the environmental non--profit International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) found that nearly 8 in 100,000 people die in Singapore due to shipping emissions, about 10 times the global average. The ICCT said marine fuel sold in Singapore contribute to more than 42% of shipping emissions in the seas surrounding Southeast Asia.
The Port of Amsterdam expects to roll out shore power installations for cruise ships by 2025. The port authority was granted EU subsidies to fund the design phase of the project and has partnered with grid operator Liander to lay down power cables for shore power.
Dutch LNG bunker supplier Titan has added another bunker delivery vessel to its fleet operating in the ARA. The company has chartered the Optimus with a long-term agreement with LNG bunkering provider Elenger. This brings Titan's total fleet of chartered and owned delivery vessels to five.
Here are the top five stories in alternative fuels this week:
European Commission approves Hy2Tech project to boost hydrogen value chain
The European Commission has approved the Hy2Tech project as part of its plan to advance technological advancement and support a hydrogen value chain.
The Commission says the project will support breakthroughs in hydrogen technologies, including electrode material, fuel cells and transportation. 15 EU member states will foot the bill with up to €5.4 billion ($5.5 billion).
Hy2Tech project was jointly prepared by Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain
35 companies will participate in 41 different projects involving technology related to hydrogen generation, fuel cells, storage, transportation, distribution and end-user applications.
These companies include Finnish refiner Neste, Italian power engineering firm Ansaldo, French hydrogen technology firm Elogen, and Danish energy company Ørsted.
“Hydrogen has a huge potential going forward. It is an indispensable component for the diversification of energy sources and the green transition,” the Commission’s Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager said.
The European Commission supports projects that it thinks can benefit the larger EU economy through its Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) plan.
Shell and partners to ship green hydrogen from Portugal to the Netherlands
A consortium led by oil supermajor Shell plans to transport 100 mt/day of liquified hydrogen (LH2) produced in Portugal’s Sines to the Netherlands’ Rotterdam by 2027.
The hydrogen will be produced with renewable energy in the industrial zone in Sines port, before being liquified and transported on liquified hydrogen carriers to Rotterdam for further distribution and sale.
They will initially conduct a feasibility study on hydrogen production, liquification and shipping between Portugal and the Netherlands under the H2Sines.RDAM project.
Other than Shell, the consortium is made up of French utility firm Engie, Dutch tank storage company Vopak and gas shipping firm Anthony Veder.
In a recent study, shipping classification society DNV forecasted that hydrogen will make up only 0.50% of the energy mix by 2030 and 5% by 2050. It said hydrogen uptake needs to be three times as much as that, at 15%, by 2050 to reach the Paris Agreement target of keeping global warming within 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
The study pointed to limited shipping capacity for hydrogen as a bottleneck to scaling its distribution and use. Shipping it can be costly and complicated, partly as it needs to be regasified from a cryogenic liquid form at its destination.
Earlier this year, Australia became the first nation to export 1,250 cbm of liquified hydrogen to Kobe, Japan. The hydrogen was transported on the Suiso Frontier.
Expleo develops e-methanol fuel cells to power ships
UK-based engineering and technology firm Expleo has developed e-methanol fuel cells to power ships, which it claims can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 92%.
As these are solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), they release carbon dioxide during operation, Expleo says. To deal with these emissions Expleo has combined the SOFCs with carbon a capture and storage system. This enables a vessel to use its captured carbon dioxide along with green hydrogen and synthesise these components to e-methanol.
Green hydrogen used in the system can be produced at offshore wind farms or from surplus electrical energy to keep it sustainable, Expleo adds.
“This circular solution allows the marine industry to make its own fuel and removes the need for costly processing and transportation,” Expleo’s vice president of marine Jonathan Taylor said.
The company has tested the technology on the Bibby Wavemaster 1, a multi-tasking offshore supply vessel, and is now working with partners to explore whether they can commercialise the system at scale.
Shipping firms to buy 'low-cost' batteries without cobalt or lithium
US-based rechargeable battery maker Alsym Energy has set its sights on the shipping industry and will supply batteries 1 GW of battery capacity per year to two shipping companies.
One of its buyers will be Singapore-based ship management company Synergy Marine. The other is Japanese bulk carrier operator Nissen Kaiun. Both will buy Alsym batteries for three years from 2025, when Alsym expects to start large-scale production
Before ramping up production, Alsym will start pilot manufacturing of non-flammable batteries for ships from later this year.
Because the batteries are not made with cobalt and lithium metals - two raw materials in high global demand - Alsym says they are less sensitive to stretched supply chains and raw material shortages. It does not say which raw materials its batteries are made of, but claims they perform as well as lithium-ion batteries while being cheaper and less flammable.
Alsym says these batteries will be compatible for cargo ships and tankers in terms of performance and regulatory requirements. These can be used to propel vessels while entering or leaving port, as shore power and to level out peaks of electricity consumption for ships at sea - also known as "peak shaving".
More than 75% of cargo ships not EEXI compliant – VesselsValue
Three quarters of bulkers, tankers and containers will not be compliant with the IMO's Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) when it kicks in next year unless they improve their efficiency rating, data firm VesselsValue says.
The EEXI has been introduced by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to curb greenhouse gas emissions from ships. It is related to the technical design of ships for which the first periodical survey will begin next year.
Since the EEXI will apply retrospectively to existing ships, many will not be compliant as they have not been designed with sustainability and energy efficiency in mind, VesselValue says.
“The challenge of decarbonisation will extend to all areas of Shipping, and EEXI alone will present a myriad of challenges to owners, operators and financiers,” it says
VesselsValue's Joey Daly argues that switching to alternative fuels is the only sustainable option to achieve future, more ambitious global decarbonisation targets. This will require newbuilds to run on low-emission fuels like ammonia, hydrogen and bioLNG.
Retrofitting technology will also play a key role in the transition and can be done with less extensive modifications to ships, he says.
