As bulk carriers move from traditional marine fuels to compliance with international emission reduction regulations, methanol will be the most favored fuel.
Harren & Partner Group/SAL has about 60 owned and leased vessels, and its CEO Martin Harren said that currently, green methanol is the most likely choice.
, the first shipping company to bet on "methanol" as an alternative energy source, currently holds a total of 19 methanol-powered newbuilding ships. Maersk's sustainability goals aim to be carbon neutral by 2040, a decade ahead of most other companies in the industry. "
Harren added that SAL ordered five green methanol vessels, the first clean-fuel vessels in its fleet, a decision that was partly due to container shipping company Maersk's own commitment to build methanol-using vessels.
In recent years, methanol from a variety of alternative fuels stand out, increasingly become the shipping industry attention and favor of alternative fuel solutions.
Prior to this, China Shipbuilding Group Co., Ltd. and France's Dafei Shipping Group formally signed a cooperation agreement in Beijing, including the construction of 12 15000TEU methanol dual-fuel power large container ships and 4 23000TEU liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel power very large container ships.
Scott Krantzcke, Atlantic managing director of open hatch carrier G2 Ocean, noted that in terms of using methanol, the progress made in other ship categories puts methanol ahead of other alternative fuels in the project cargo area, such as ammonia, hydrogen, biofuels or liquefied natural gas.
Krantzcke said 49 container ships and two dry bulk carriers were being built with methanol, with other fuels still under development and regulated. There is no clear path yet, but (methanol) has an early trend.
Jost Bergmann, director of operations for multi-purpose ships and general cargo ships at DNV classification society, said that one advantage of methanol is its track record. Their tankers have been running this fuel for 10 years without any problems. However, determining the appropriate fuel or fuel combination and disassembly space is particularly complex, as most alternative fuels require space on board to store fuel, which would otherwise be used for cargo storage. If you want to use green methanol, you need to capture carbon molecules, which is an expensive challenge.
Recently, the European Parliament and the EU Council reached an agreement on clean marine fuels, requiring a 2% reduction in ship emissions by 2025 and an 80% reduction by 2050 to help the EU achieve climate neutral goals.
Challenges abound
The reason for shipowners' uncertainty about the clean fuel transition is that regulatory requirements to reduce carbon emissions are conflicting with the reality that there is no perfect alternative fuel to replace traditional fossil fuels.
At the same time, ports also face the challenge of understanding what fuels they need to supply to carriers serving multiple cargo sectors.
Bergmann say there are advantages and disadvantages to each fuel. Ammonia is a more complex material because of the toxicity (nature) and density of this substance. But from the point of view of the greenhouse, this is an advantage. From an engine design point of view, due to the challenges posed by this material, they are also working hard to complete the test.
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