The goal for zero emissions set within IMO 2050 is a challenge, but the industry is already making visible and effective efforts to be on the right path.
With still much uncertainty around which technology will be the forerunner to meet emission reduction targets for the future, shipowners have to plan their investments now; they will surely have to make choices outside the norm but, to this day, much of the new build order book remains with traditional fuels or LNG. However, we need to start reducing emissions immediately.
The challenge faced needs to be addressed on all fronts: new fuels, new technology, and new ways of operating. Theoretically, biofuels and methanol are fuelling options for the future, but the availability and distribution network for the supply of these fuels are still nascent. Hydrogen and fuel cells will certainly play a part as a global energy vector; ammonia, methanol and carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) all have potential to bring the industry towards net zero. But, for example, there is not a ready supply or supporting infrastructure to move to green hydrogen or ammonia bunkering today. The winning fuels and technology for the future will depend heavily on the approach of other market sectors as is the case of CCU technology. Captured CO2 has the potential to be used in industrial processes, to create synthetic fuels or blue hydrogen, or to be pumped and stored in old underground oil wells.
The solutions chosen now must be both practical and sustainable.
This is where dual fuel solutions and biofuels present an excellent opportunity for transition and to stay on track with the IMO 2030 and 2050 targets. LNG has great appeal because the market, availability, distribution network, and engine technology are already well established. It presents an interim option with lower emissions than fuel oil and it can be used to produce hydrogen onboard, providing a proven, reliable and economically sustainable solution that will meet IMO targets today and into the future.
Using LNG to produce hydrogen onboard removes the need for new energy infrastructure, offers a solution that is based on readily available technology and fuels that will meet increasingly stringent emission reduction targets throughout the lifetime of a vessel. This proven solution means that shipowners can invest in top-rated CII New Builds today with confidence and without risk.
Hydrogen is produced by combining LNG with steam in a gas reformer onboard the ship, which splits LNG molecules into hydrogen and CO2, which is captured by splitting the LNG molecules rather than from exhaust gas. Hydrogen can then be directly used to fuel the internal combustion engines and power fuel cells. Furthermore, the concept opens new and exciting technological possibilities by combining it with the use of modern ship propulsion arrangements featuring four stroke DF engines, which are also able to run on a fuel mix of LNG and H2, leading to a notable reduction of GHG emissions at current market speeds and a significantly lower capex and opex.
RINA has been working with the industry on the new dual fuel LNG/hydrogen engine propulsion arrangement, which was given a first approval in principle for an MR tanker designed by FKAB, for a VLCC designed by SWS and, at the end of last year, the company signed a joint development project with Maran Dry Management Inc. for an LNG and hydrogen powered 210,000DWT bulk carrier.
While actively working on ground-breaking propulsion arrangements, RINA also established a connection with the Energy, Fluids and Turbomachinery Division at the Department of Engineering at Cambridge University. Through this relationship, Professor Epaminondas Mastorakos, a leading expert in Thermodynamics, has scientifically validated - other things being equal - the pre-combustion carbon capture system which is actually what the H2 production stands for, over a post combustion system.
On the path to IMO2050, slow steaming can be combined with other actions such as reducing friction and digital fleet monitoring and management solutions to increase the efficiency of ship operations. Digitalisation is a paramount tool for monitoring fuel consumption and efficiency levels, ensuring data reliability for efficiency ratings, and providing vital intelligence for investment decisions; optimizing routes and bunkering stops will also naturally reduce emissions.
By producing hydrogen onboard, shipowners will take away the risks associated with using hydrogen as a fuel and embrace the advantages of its use today.
* RINA Marine Technical Director