With the Port of Houston organisation committing to net zero by 2050, looking at ways to reduce emissions from ships and road vehicles at the port is key
Panellists at Riviera Maritime Media’s Maritime Air Pollution & Fuel Technologies Conference, Americas 2022 discussed options for reducing emissions during a session on national and port-level emissions initiatives.
Port of Houston environmental affairs director Trae Camble said his organisation has managed to reduce all contaminants as part of a stated goal to hit net-zero emissions by 2050, and to aim for a zero-carbon supply chain.
The difficulty for the largely container shipping-focused port is the emissions that fall outside of the port’s direct control, or those coming from the vessels and vehicles that utilise the port.
"As you all may have heard, it’s not easy, but it’s relatively possible to get to 90%," Mr Camble said. "But that last 10% is what most companies at most ports are going to struggle with. Because a lot of things are outside of their control: the ships and the trucks coming in and out."
Mr Camble said the port has spent more than US$320M on direct sustainability-linked actions since 2002 and an additional US$100M on ’related issues’ but the port has recognised the need for even greater emphasis on its emissions-reduction efforts going forward.
He said Port of Houston was the first port to do an asset-backed, renewable electricity contract that is not linked to carbon credits.
"We’ve reduced our carbon footprint by 55% since 2016, and the main drivers of that are the move to our 100% asset-backed renewable energy, electricity contract. We service our electricity from a solar farm in west Texas that we helped build through this contract. And it’s supplemented through windfarms in south Texas. This cuts our emissions drastically from a carbon footprint standpoint," he said.
Still, he said, the largest remaining emissions drivers are the vehicles and vessels coming into port.
"We’re having a lot of conversations based around shore power, based around cold ironing, based around bonded barge systems, and then based around zero-emissions vehicles," he said.
"I believe hydrogen will play a part. Obviously, fully electric is the best route to go. But there are other transitional things, methanol, ammonia, that can be used to help too," he said.
Partnerships, Mr Camble said, are the key to finding solutions and what is currently demanding most of his time.
"We’re trying to help pilot a lot of organisations, thoughts and initiatives. There’s a lot of great ideas out there that just need a pilot. And we want to be a part of that. We want to be leading the industry in this new technology to help us get to a sustainable future."
One organisation that has put its emissions reduction technology to the test in high-volume ports with strict emissions standards is Clean Air Engineering Maritime, which has been operating in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in California.
Its METS barge-based capture and control systems for container ships and tankers has been in operation for seven years after being certified under California’s strict emissions regulations overseen by the California Air Resource Board. And its ShoreKat shore-based system has performed similar emissions capture and control since 2019 at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Over the course of its work in LA and Long Beach, Fassmer technical projects director Craig Gundry whose company is involved with the project, said Cleain Air Engineering Maritime’s systems have treated more than 350 vessels, claiming more than 99% removal of particulate matter and more than 95% removal of nitrous oxides (NOx).
"So far, over 41,000 kg of particulate matter has been treated, and 198 kg of NOx has been treated. This is a well-proven technology that’s going into its next generation," Mr Gundry said.
The METS system has been developed to reach ships outside of the port and begin offshore treatment even in strong wind conditions. The system can also be used inside the port if it is not possible for a vessel to occupy space on the berth during loading and unloading operations. Its telescopic and articulated boom can reach the stack of any type of ship, up to 67 m and thus far has mostly worked with container vessels.
"The demand for these systems is right now, and that’s why we’re starting to build more as we create this next generation. Each system can be used for 7,000 hours and over 100 vessel calls per year," Mr Gundry said.
The portable system is competitive with port electrification costs, Mr Gundry said.
"In operation, the cost per kilowatt hour to receive the shore power versus the cost to run the treatment in those same amount of time periods is coming out favourably. It’s less money for the cost to be utilising the METS capture and control system versus the amount of money you’d be paying for the shore power. Certainly, that is proven. And we have data on that in the seven years of operation for the clients using the METS system in the port of Long Beach," he said.
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