Preparing for the maritime energy transition

Commitments and timetables to this end already exist, of which the most prominent is the Paris Agreement of 2015, forged at the COP21 Summit in Paris, France.

Transitions at sea

The shipping sector is a major source of GHG emissions. Ship owners and operators, as well as ship builders and marine equipment manufacturers, have embarked on their own very demanding programme of countermeasures led by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). In early 2018, the IMO formulated its ‘Initial Strategy’ on decarbonisation, calling for total annual GHG emissions from international shipping to peak at the earliest date, and subsequently decrease to 50% of 2008 levels by 2050.

The exacting measures needed to attain the IMO goals are already under implementation and represent the first steps in a ‘maritime energy transition’ – a term coined by MAN Energy Solutions in 2016, and whose case it has championed since. With as many as 50% of all ocean-going ships powered by engines developed in Augsburg, Germany and Copenhagen, Denmark, MAN Energy Solutions is a major stakeholder in the shipping sector and has an immense contribution to make towards GHG reduction.

Scale of the undertaking

According to statistics prepared by the International Chamber of Shipping, around 11 billion t of cargo are transported by ship annually. Moreover, up to 2050, the volume of world shipping is predicted to grow by up to 250%. Hence, the industry faces a dilemma over how to reduce GHG emissions while the volume of freight grows. With a 50% share of the marine-engine market, MAN Energy Solutions recognises its obligation to take decisive action.

Feasible alternatives and proven performers

In contrast with the vehicle sector, direct electrification with batteries as energy storage systems will only become applicable within the maritime industry in certain niches, for example in coastal shipping or for short-range ferries.

As such, neither batteries nor fuel cells can provide the power output nor energy density necessary to meet the range and endurance that ocean-going vessels need – not to mention the required durability and robustness.

Currently, large two- and four-stroke engines are irreplaceable in the majority of traditional marine propulsion and onboard power generation applications. Therefore, as its starting point, the maritime energy transition must look at ways to reduce or eliminate GHG emissions from these traditional maritime prime movers.

Accordingly, MAN Energy Solutions sees existing lower-carbon fuels and new decarbonised fuels – not radically different forms of propulsion power – as the solution to the GHG problem at sea.

The turn to gas – and beyond

The transition to lower-carbon fuels has already begun. Currently, a rising share of MAN Energy Solutions’ new order intake is for dual-fuel engines that burn LNG and produce some 20% less CO₂/kWh than traditional diesel engines. As a result, the shipping industry will be in a position to have a rapid impact on GHG emissions while developing its products and strategies and building on the initial emissions reduction due to LNG.

MAN Energy Solutions’ attention has already turned to the fuels that will continue the marine engine decarbonisation process. Its strategy for the maritime energy transition calls for progressive, stepwise reductions in GHG emissions based on gaseous and liquid fuels burnt in fuel-flexible engines. Therefore, the engine solutions of the future will be largely powered by synthetic fuels made from green hydrogen derived from the electrolysis of water by renewable, regenerative electricity (the so-called ‘power-to-X’ process).

This article was written by Dr. Gunnar Stiesch, MAN Energy Solutions, Germany.

This article was originally published in the Summer 2023 issue of Global Hydrogen Review magazine. To read the full article, simply follow this link.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalhydrogenreview.com/hydrogen/24082023/preparing-for-the-maritime-energy-transition/