Editor’s choice 2023: fuelling the future of shipping from ammonia to wind

Green ammonia and hydrogen are both promising paths to net-zero, according to Antwerp-based shipowner CMB, which is not only ordering ships, but working with enginebuilder WinGD and investing in producing its own supply of green fuels.

Strides were made in medium-speed engine technology, too, with Wärtsilä bringing the first ammonia dual-fuel, four-stroke engine to market, securing its first order for the Wärtsilä 25 from Norwegian owner Viridis Bulk Carriers.

And Anglo Belgian Corp and CMB.Tech have secured type-approval from Lloyd’s Register for their BeHydro hydrogen-powered dual-fuel engines. The first hydrogen-powered tug, Hydrotug 1, equipped with the engine technology, is in the Port of Antwerp ready for commercial operations.

Both Wärtsilä and MAN unveiled new developments in methanol dual-fuel engines.

Hydrogen fuel-cell technology is being trialled, including on one of the first hydrogen fuel cell-powered ferries in the world, Sea Change, which will go into operation in San Francisco Bay.

Nuclear option

Nuclear power for both merchant ship propulsion and floating power applications is gaining new interest.

“There are 160, mostly naval, nuclear-powered vessels today, and we find that it is a technically feasible solution for the case-study ship, with a reactor and gensets for redundancy and take-me-home functionality,” notes DNV in its Energy Transition Outlook 2023 report. “We find that nuclear propulsion can be a competitive option if reactor costs are in the lower range of historical costs for land-based nuclear power plants.

China State Shipbuilding Corp’s Jiangnan Shipyards unveiled a 24,000-TEU nuclear-powered box ship design concept at the Marintec China maritime exhibition in Shanghai in December.

Shipping is also turning back the clocks to the days of sail to make improvements in propulsive efficiency, lower fuel consumption and reduce emissions. Several systems have been tested on bulk carriers, with the world’s largest ore carrier, Sohar Max, to be retrofit with five rotor sails by Brazilian mining giant by Q2 2024.

DNV says, “Wind-assisted propulsion has already delivered yearly fuel savings of between 5% and 9% for certain ships, according to vessel owners and operators, and is claimed to have the potential to reach 25%. Potentially, the gains can be higher if newbuilds are specifically designed to carry sail systems. By combining wind-assisted propulsion technology with weather routeing algorithms and logistics optimisation (eg allowing for lower speed), the advantages of sailing can be enhanced by generating optimal routes for individual vessels”.

Onboard carbon capture and storage is seen as an important bridging technology to greener fuels but is still in its earliest stages of development. Besides technical and operational challenges, shipping must also overcome regulatory hurdles before there can be wider uptake.

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