The white paper ‘Alternative fuels and technologies for greener shipping’ examines the price, availability, regulatory challenges and environmental benefits of alternative fuels and technologies, including LNG, LPG, hydrogen, fuel cells, and hybrid and battery technologies.
It compares them with the use of conventional fuel with scrubbers and new low sulfur alternatives.
“The incoming IMO sulfur cap on emissions from shipping could have a significant effect on the maritime industry, and it has the potential to be a game changer for alternative fuels,” said Trond Hodne, DNV GL senior vice president, sales & marketing director. “Our new white paper is designed to set out the options for interested stakeholders and to offer a balanced assessment of the potential of these fuels and technologies going forward. We hope that by doing so we can add to the growing body of knowledge and enable investment decisions to be made with greater certainty and confidence.”
The technologies and fuels considered are many of the most commonly used in the shipping industry today, ie LNG, LPG, methanol, biofuel, hydrogen, battery systems, fuel cell systems, and wind-assisted propulsion. The paper identifies and examines the factors that will affect the uptake and acceptance of alternative fuels and technologies in shipping, including: environmental compatibility, availability, fuel costs and the international rules within the IGF Code.
In the short term, the white paper projects that the vast majority of conventionally fuelled vessels already in service will either switch to low sulfur conventional fuels, or implement a scrubber system, while continuing to use heavy fuel oil (HFO).
For newbuilding vessels, the sulfur cap could be a major driver for alternative fuels, and DNV GL’s Gerd Würsig, business director alternative fuelled ships, believed that LNG is the prime contender among them: “LNG has already overcome the barriers related to international legislation and is available in sufficient quantities today to meet the requirements of the shipping industry for many years.
“It also fits within the trend of demands to lower emissions of CO2, NOx and particulate matter. At the end of the day however, the best concept for a given application needs to be determined by the shipowner on a case-by-case basis, and at DNV GL we are ready to assist in finding the best solution,” he stressed.