An agreement has been signed for the development of the first ship powered by methanol or ammonia. Reducing emissions from maritime transport is a priority.
A vessel powered entirely by methanol or ammonia: this is the project that Rina, the ship classification society headquartered in Genoa but known worldwide, is developing together with the Shanghai merchant ship design & research institute (Sdari), pooling their respective areas of expertise.
Sdari will be responsible for developing the concept design of the vessel, while Rina, also drawing on its experience in the use of alternative fuels, will verify compliance with international regulations. The project will offer the opportunity to explore the use of both ammonia and methanol on a tanker, potentially laying the groundwork for applying the same technology to other types of vessel. Man energy solutions, which specialises in dual-fuel technology — that is, technology involving the use of more than one fuel — is also collaborating on the project.
"Ship design is already at the cutting edge in terms of energy efficiency and, with the use of alternative fuels, the shipping industry will be able to meet the ambitious International maritime organization (Imo) 2030 and 2050 emissions reduction targets," said Giosuè Vezzuto, Executive Vice President Marine at Rina. "A ship designed specifically to use ammonia and methanol as fuels is a forward-looking solution. This milestone is part of Rina's initiatives dedicated to the energy transition."
Wang Gang Yi, Vice President of Sdari, confirmed the intention to collaborate with Rina to achieve the emissions reduction targets set by the Imo for 2030 and 2050, while Brian Østergaard Sørensen, Vice President and Head of Man energy solutions Copenhagen, clarified that "in the near future we believe that the use of two-stroke engine technology will continue to be used in certain navigation contexts, but ammonia and methanol, which we know well, are fuels with great 'green' potential and we look forward to contributing our expertise to this project too."
The Imo targets to which Rina refers follow the measures that already came into force on 1 January 2020 with the so-called "Sulphur cap", which lowered the limit on sulphur emissions from ships from 3.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent.
For shipowners, the entry into force of the Sulphur cap necessarily entailed recourse to three different solutions: the adoption of scrubbers, "filters" that can be installed on individual ships to reduce the percentage of sulphur emitted into the air; the installation of new engines powered by "clean" fuels (liquefied natural gas, methane, hydrogen or electric); or the use of special fuels produced specifically to reduce emissions.
It is therefore no surprise that many companies have pursued research and development plans to identify new, more sustainable fuels, and some — such as the company Viking line — have launched a ferry powered by wind energy that uses rotor sails capable of "capturing" the wind and converting it into electricity.
The International maritime organization has, however, announced even more ambitious targets, setting a 40 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 2008, and a further 50 per cent reduction by 2050.
A highly complex transition, yet one that is proceeding inexorably and is forcing shipowners to increase the pace of research and development in order to actually design and build new ships powered by alternative fuels. These include liquefied natural gas, undoubtedly more expensive in terms of production (natural gas must be purified and dehydrated) but capable of powering a ship over long distances, as well as hydrogen (on which Rina, once again, is focusing through a partnership with Axpo) and, of course, ammonia or methanol.
New fuels that will inevitably influence the routes and types of vessel used, just as happens with cars, taking into account a necessarily reduced "range." And this is where dual-fuel power comes into play — possibly battery-based — which, according to experts, would at the very least make it possible to meet the 2030 target.
To date, according to Imo estimates, ferry vessels use an average of 40 tonnes of fuel per day, generating emissions of 120 tonnes of CO2, equivalent to 400,000 kilometres travelled by a car. And maritime transport in 2018 accounted for 2.89 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions produced by humans.
"It is clear that the global introduction of alternative fuels or energy sources for international maritime transport will be an integral part of achieving the overall objectives set out in the Imo's initial strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions," the Imo states. "There is room to consider all options, including electric and hybrid, hydrogen and other fuel types. There is also much that can be done to improve the energy efficiency of ships through operational measures," they explain. "The Imo-industry alliance (Gia) is studying how to mitigate the barriers to just-in-time ship operations. Currently, many ships spend hours or days waiting outside ports with their diesel engines running: just-in-time operations could significantly reduce emissions."