7. The Quest for a Carbon-Neutral Maritime Future 1/2

Redefining Energy - TECH

Michael Barnard welcomes Elisabet Liljeblad, PhD, the sustainability and energy lead with Stena Teknik, to discuss decarbonization in the maritime industry. Elisabet shares her diverse background including studying the magnetosphere of Mercury and a stint in Afghanistan keeping the peace, and how she ended up in shipping.
Full transcript.
They explore the scale of the maritime industry and its challenge of decarbonization due to its size, variety of vessels, and dependency on fossil fuels. Shipping constitutes a significant amount of emissions globally. The conversation touches upon different types of ships within Stena's business units, including drilling, bulk transportation, passenger ferries, technical services, and their varying operational characteristics. They highlight the need for different fuel logistics as ships transition away from fossil fuels towards electrification or alternative fuels like ammonia, methanol, hydrogen or biodiesel blends. The challenges faced by ports in accommodating these diverse refueling options are also discussed along with onboard carbon capture as a potential solution.The potential for electrification in marine shipping is significant, with projections suggesting that 40% of container ships can be electrified within this decade.
Methanol is another opportunity for shipping fuel, and Stena has converted a ropax vessel to run on both diesel and methanol. Methanol has half the energy density of fossil diesel but doesn't evaporate at room temperature. It's relatively easy to store and handle but requires separate tanks from other fuels due to its characteristics.
Biodiesel, particularly hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), burns cleaner than fossil fuels with lower emissions of pollutants like sulfur oxide (SOx) and nitrogen oxide (NOx). HVO is considered a high-quality biofuel that emits fewer harmful substances and doesn't require special considerations like microbial growth.However, as green hydrogen becomes more prevalent in HVO production processes, it may become more expensive compared to other biofuels that don't rely on green hydrogen.
There's no magic bullet solution for decarbonizing marine shipping; it requires a mix of solutions depending on the type of ship and route involved.
They discuss the difference between N20 and NO2, both created by burning anything in our atmosphere, with a focus on their effects on human beings and the environment. Ultimately, the goal is to move away from burning fuels and transition to electric engines as much as possible for more efficient energy utilization.