Hydrogen bulk carrier, battery-powered container ship
Pressure to reduce greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions has extended to the shipping industry. The first facilities powered by electricity, natural gas or hydrogen are already under construction.
It is estimated that maritime transport is responsible for 3,5-4% of greenhouse gas emissions, mainly carbon dioxide, and even more pollution. Against the backdrop of global emissions of pollutants, shipping "produces" 18-30% of nitrogen oxides and 9% of sulfur oxides.
Sulfur in the air forms acid rainthat destroy crops and buildings. Sulfur inhalation causes problems with the respiratory systemand even increases heart attack risk. Marine fuels are usually heavy fractions of crude oil (1), with a high sulfur content.
says Irene Blooming, spokeswoman for the European environmental coalition Seas in Risk.
echoes Nerijus Poskus of shipping technology company Flexport.
1. Traditional heavy fuel marine engine
In 2016, the United Nations and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) decided to introduce legislation to reduce allowable emissions of greenhouse gases and pollutants. Rules imposing significant limits on the amount of sulfur pollution from ships that are close to land come into force for shipowners from January 2020. The IMO has also indicated that by 2050 the maritime transport industry must reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 50%.
Regardless of new emission targets and regulations, more and more solutions are already being developed or proposed around the world that can radically change the ecology of maritime transport.
hydrogen ferry
Fuel cell maker Bloom Energy is working with Samsung Heavy Industries to develop hydrogen-powered ships, Bloomberg recently reported.
Preeti Pande, Bloom Energy's vice president of strategic market development, said in a statement to the agency.
Until now, Bloom products have been used to power buildings and data centers. The cells were filled with earth, but now they can be adapted to store hydrogen. Compared to conventional diesel fuel, they produce significantly less greenhouse gases and produce no soot or smog.
Shipowners themselves declare the transition to clean propulsion technologies. The world's largest container shipping company, Maersk, announced in 2018 that it aims to decarbonize its operations by 2050, although it didn't say how it wants to do it. It is clear that new ships, new engines and, above all, new fuel will be required for success.
The search for cleaner and climate-friendly fuels for shipping currently revolves around two viable options: liquefied natural gas and hydrogen. A study by the US Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories back in 2014 found hydrogen to be the more promising of the two options.
Leonard Klebanoff, a Sandia researcher, began to analyze with his then colleague Joe Pratt whether modern ships could be powered by hydrogen fuel cells instead of using them on fossil fuels. Their project was launched when the San Francisco Bay ferry operator asked the Department of Energy if its fleet could be converted to hydrogen. While hydrogen fuel cell technology has been around for decades, no one thought about using it on ships at the time.
Both scientists were convinced that the use of cells was possible, although, of course, various difficulties would have to be overcome for this. per unit of energy produced about four times more liquid hydrogen than conventional diesel fuel. Many engineers fear that they may not have enough fuel for their ships. A similar problem exists with the alternative to hydrogen, liquefied natural gas, which, moreover, does not have such a zero emission level.
2. Construction of the first hydrogen ferry at the Auckland shipyard.
On the other hand, the efficiency of hydrogen fuel remains twice that of conventional fuel, so in fact need twice as muchnot four. In addition, hydrogen propulsion systems are much less bulky than conventional marine engines. So Klebanoff and Pratt eventually concluded that it was possible to convert most existing ships to hydrogen and that it would be even easier to build a new fuel cell ship.
In 2018, Pratt left Sandia Labs to co-found the Golden Gate Zero Emission Marine, which developed detailed plans for a hydrogen ferry and convinced the State of California to donate $3 million to fund a pilot project. At the shipyard in Oakland, California, work is currently underway on the construction of the first units of this type (2). The passenger ferry, scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, will be the first powered vessel in the United States. It will be used to carry passengers through and study the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Sandia National Laboratory team will explore the device throughout its length.
Norwegian innovation
In Europe, Norway is known for its innovation in the field of offshore facilities with alternative propulsion.
In 2016, shipowner The Fjords launched a scheduled service between Flåm and Gudvangen in the Norwegian Midwest using the Vision of the fjords hybrid engine from Brødrene Aa. Brødrene Aa engineers, using the experience of building Vision of the fjords, built Future of the Fjords with no harmful emissions. This almost two-cylinder engine was equipped with two 585 hp electric motors. everyone. The fiberglass catamaran can take on board up to 16 passengers at the same time, and its speed is 20 knots. Of particular note is the charging time of the batteries that drive the device, which is only XNUMX minutes.
In 2020, an autonomous electric container ship is due to enter Norwegian waters - Yara Birkeland. The electricity to power the ship's batteries will come almost entirely from hydroelectric power plants. Last year, AAB announced plans to collaborate with the Norwegian Research Center on the use of cages in transport and passenger divisions.
Experts emphasize that the process of switching the maritime industry to alternative and more environmentally friendly solutions (3) will last for many years. The life cycle of ships is long, and the inertia of the industry remains no less than that of several hundred thousand meters loaded to the brim.
