The Week in Alternative Fuels 12 January 2024
LNG is becoming more popular as an alternative marine fuel, mainly due to its wider availability, technological readiness and often competitive prices. Classification society DNV 's latest figures show that there are now 1,006 LNG-capable vessels in operation or on order for delivery by 2028.
LNG may offer reduced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions compared to conventional marine fuels such as VLSFO and HSFO in the near-term. However, it can have higher well-to-wake GHG emissions than conventional fuels because of methane leakages during extraction, processing, transport and incomplete combustion of the fuel, according to a whitepaper published US non-profit The International Council on Clean Transportation . These methane emissions can offset the lowered CO2 emissions as methane has a much higher global warming potential than CO2.
LNG can be replaced with e-methane to significantly lower a ship's lifecycle CO2 and methane emissions.
Nordic Ren-Gas intends to produce approximately 10,000 mt/year of e-methane from 2026, using green hydrogen and biogenic CO2. Finnish state-owned energy firm Gasum will procure all of these volumes for deliveries to ships, and to other clients. Both e-methane and LNG are made up of methane molecules, which means they can be used in LNG-capable vessels without any modifications. And since e-methane is produced using renewable hydrogen and biogenic CO2, there will theoretically not be any upstream methane emissions.
To drastically minimise the shipping sector’s GHG emissions, global shipping companies must embrace fuels with zero-emission potential, such as green methanol and ammonia. Demand-driven regulations will spur investments in these fuels and technologies and boost their uptake, a T&E UK report indicates.
T&E recommends that the UK should regulate its domestic shipping emissions by imposing a GHG intensity standard on all vessels calling at UK ports by 2030. It also suggested that at least 6% of all fuel used onboard vessels by 2030 should be green hydrogen and hydrogen derivative fuels such as green ammonia and e-methanol. T&E estimates that ambitious mid-term measures like these will help the UK to reduce its shipping emissions by 22% by 2035, compared to 2019 levels.
While UK shipping emissions – and the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) for shipping – make up a small portion of global shipping emissions, it will still be necessary for ships calling at UK ports to comply with the UK ETS.
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By Konica Bhatt