May and June Green Fuels Update
What is Maersk up to? Methanol is still racking up orders, but is its leading backer getting cold feet?
Reports, Studies, Green Coridoors
A busy period for reports, DNV noted that for January-May of 2024, methanol is leading LNG in new orders, 70 to 46. Maersk continues to call for an end date to fossil-fuel only ships. Wärtsilä held a marine-themed investor call, the slides from which give a good overview of their view on decarbonization, including prices, volumes, and challenges for a range of fuels. It was also a very busy period for studies:
MMMCZCS looked into the availability of biogenic CO2, finding that it is likely sufficient for short-term decarbonization needs, but it is unlikely to be sufficient to decarbonize even 50% of the marine industry’s current fuel needs.
RMI produced a port-focused report on Green Methanol and Ammonia supply.
MMMCZCS produced a short article on the dual-fuel case for complying with the FuelEU mandate. Pooling vessels together in the short term continues to be one of the few practical approaches to this regulation.
SGMF commissioned a well-to-wake report on Ammonia as a marine fuel, which found up to 61% savings in GHG-equivalent emissions are possible. This is a notable report as it finds that even with electro-fuel based NH3, the reduction from using NH3 tops out at 61%, with significant distribution/production and combustion sources of GHG.
DNV has released a white paper looking in depth at onboard carbon capture, highlighting the continued space, regulatory benefit, and maturity concerns.
DNV has also released a report on the availability of Green and Blue ammonia, 2030-2050.
EU T&E released a green hydrogen study, confirming the current first-mover problem - despite the EU FuelEU mandate, few of these green fuel projects have received a positive final investment decision. Denmark’s leadership in this space is also highlighted, the scale of which I previously did not know.
Green corridor news was a bit more sparse this time, but progress on the details of making these corridors operational seems to be a growing focus:
Korea is targeting methanol-powered ships for its previously (Dec 2023) announced green corridor to the U.S. West Coast.
The Decatrip project previously-announced a green corridor between Turku, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden seems to be operable on Viking Line, through purchase of biofuel for individual passenger/vehicle portions of a journey’s emissions - more here.
DFDS’s Green Corridor project is growing with a new Belgian port. The goal remains to have two ammonia-powered vessels by 2030.
Methanol
What is Maersk Up To?
Maersk, one of Methanol’s biggest advocates created headlines in this review period. First, it suspended an order for up to 15 3,500 TEU feeders. This was initially spun as Maersk was unhappy with the quality of the detailed design provided by the shipyard. Then, in July, it appeared to partner with Seaspan on LNG dual-fuelled vessels. Most people have written this up to concerns over the readiness of methanol supply (and FuelEU’s quick arrival time) rather than a long-term shift away from Methanol. But as highlighted in the last green-fuels news, the number of “investments” in making green fuel that have passed a FID gate is very small. Does Maersk want a bio-methane and bio-methanol option on the table going forward? How will the “bio” limits in FuelEU come into play? Watch this space for more maneuvering…
Orders and Conversions
As always, a Clarkson or DNV-AFI subscription is going to be better than my open-source searchings, but what has appeared in press includes:
STENA line is converting 2 out of 4 engines on two RoRo ferries to Methanol, following on an initial 2015 conversion. This is the first partial conversion I am aware of, and is likely a FuelEU response within the confines of an existing vessel. STENA is working with LR, which has also prepared an accompanying case study.
Mitsubishi Shipbuilding will build two 2,300 car RoRos for Japense domestic service.
Guangzhou Shipyard International will build two methanol DF medium range tankers for Vietnam’s Asia Pacific Shipping.
Royal Bodewes will build 4 coastal 5,000 DWT methanol-ready bulkers for Hagland Shipping.
One that I believed slipped through earlier - NXT has a methanol cable layer under construction.
X-Press feeders has ordered 4 11,000 TEU vessels from China’s Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co, and has announced the on-ways conversion of several of its smaller feeders to “methanol now.”
COSCO is upgrading four 16,180 TEU vessels to Methanol, at a cost > $25 million per ship, which gives a good price point for such conversions.
AAL has added another two methanol dual-fueled heavy lift ships to the six already on order in China.
Lemissoler Navigation ordered 8 65,000 DWT methanol duel-fuel bulk carriers at CSSC Huangpu Wenchong.
NS United has ordered a 300,000 DWT Capesize dual-fuel methanol bulker in Japan.
Wallenius ordered four more “tri-fuel” Shaper class vessels, methanol dual-fueled and ammonia “ready.”
Evergreen has ordered 6 methanol dual-fuel 2,400 TEU feeders from CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding.
A two plus two option deal was announced in Korea for 7,900 TEU methanol ready containerships. Owner unknown.
Bunkering and Equipment
A lot of movement on bunkering (e.g. methanol provision to ships separate from production). AD Ports announced an MOU for a bunkering/export facility in the Suez Canal region of Egypt. Fratelli-Cosulich welcomed a 8,300 m3 methanol-ready bunkering vessel in Singapore, while Stena Prosperous bunkered with a 80/20 green/grey methanol blend in Singapore. Houlder announced the design of a 10,000 m3 bunkering vessel without an active customer.
Onboard equipment for Methanol fuel is robust and widely available, Alfa-Laval announced the 100th order of its low-flashpoint fuel supply gear. Auramarine is also making deliveries of similar systems.
Maersk and Blue World announced the completion of a 200 kW high-temperature PEM fuel cell stack, with efficiency proposed at 55% for the full ship-sized installation, plus easy ability to include carbon capture (as easy as this could be…), and 150 C waste heat streams for re-use. The long-term battle between fuel cells and thermal engines will be fascinating. The methanol to hydrogen tugboat Hydrogen One also received a basis for regulatory approval in the US.
Ammonia
A sign of the approaching dawn of the Ammonia era - EPS has now set up crew training with MAN B+W for its future ammonia-powered vessels. Fortescue also burned just over 4 tonnes of Ammonia in Singapore in a propulsion/maneuvering demonstration on their prototype vessel Fortescue Green Pioneer. Perhaps most notable is the flag (Singapore) and class (DNV) approvals gained to run this demo. Norway also provided funds for ammonia fueled vessels to Höegh Autoliners and Amon Maritime, including about 60% of the cost to convert four of Höegh’s Aurora class to Ammonia.
Orders and Conversions
Orders were rather quiet in this window, but a few small announcements did appear:
ABS, KSB, Alfa Laval, and WinGD are working on a new MR tanker design with Ammonia power.
Tianjin Southwest Maritime has signed a contract for dual-fuel 25,000 m3 gas carriers, including the ability to carry ammonia.
Supply and Bunkering
KRR and IGNIS announced another Spanish Power-to-X investment, targeting ammonia and hydrogen - up to €400 million. A one million TPA blue Ammonia plant project was announced in the UAE. Some details came to light on a new scheme to bunker bulk carriers in Australia.
Equipment
Amogy's cracking-to-fuel cell marine demo is getting closer, the boat’s name has been announced as NH3 Kracken, I still can’t place this name on the clever/cringy line. Amogy was also busy with an MOU with KR and Hanwa Ocean and Aero on Ammonia cracking technology. In Korea, a 2,100 HP Ammonia/LNG engine demonstration has been carried out. Samsung Heavy Industries completed its shore-based demonstrator for Ammonia propulsion equipment. HD Hyundai revealed new Ammonia scrubbers at the Global Tech Forum, though details are scarce.
More details on BOCIMAR’s Newcastle-Max ammonia bulk carriers ordered in 2023 - CIMC SOE is building the ammonia tanks - 2 x 3000m3 per vessel, 31m long with 12m diameter cylinders with hemispherical heads. AET’s ammonia-fueled Aframaxes will get WinGD X62DF-A engines.
Hydrogen, Biofuels, and Carbon Capture
Wind is notable for its absence, after making headlines through the spring.
Hydrogen
Hydrogen had an active few months. Torghatten Nord A/S contracted with MAN Cyro for the compressed hydrogen systems on their two RoRo ferries in Norway. SWITCH Maritime bunkered 242 Kg of green hydrogen on their 75-passenger catamaran ferry for sea trials in the US, while Hydra reached 20,000 voyages. Genevos received EU funding for a 100 kW-classs 12m fishing vessel using fuel cells. Feadship launched a new 118m yacht with 4 tons of liquid H2 storage for fuel cell use - primarily covering hotel load and low-speed harbor maneuvering. Norway is also providing funding for 5, 6,000 DWT coastal dry-bulk vessels with dual-fuel (including H2) internal combustion propulsion engines and fuel cells for auxiliary loads. The ZEPH2 consortium is ready with the design of a catamaran H2-powered wind SOV, 28m long, 800 kW of fuel cells, 350 Kg of H2 onboard in a compressed form. Fuel cells aren’t the only option, Damen and CMB.TECH announced the contract for four, 80-tonne bollard pull tugs, using dual-fuel ICE for hydrogen. Each tug would carry 736 Kg of H2, compressed to 350 bar onboard. Finally, Shell and HD Hyundai are looking at large H2 carrier designs.
Biofuels
Biofuels are a quick fix for FuelEU concerns, and the Miami - Barcelona route now has a biofuel option. Ikea has also added a Korea-Europe biofuel route via HMM’s ships. K Line reports that their vessel Apollon Highway completed a trial while using B100 biofuel bunkered in Zeebrugge. Swedish RoRo operator Lakeway Link has signed a supply agreement for B15 fuel. A wood pellet design MOU was also announced, bringing us almost full circle to the early days of steam. Biofuel production continues to pick up, Green2x signed an agreement with Malmo’s port for a straw-to-biomethane production facility, but IOC isn’t until 2030.
Carbon Capture
A joint venture between CPGC and BASF will see BASF’s carbon capture technology deployed on unknown but multiple LNG ships. ABS, NK, and BV have reportedly witnessed shore-based testing.
Commentary
Less of commentary this time, and more of “where are we at” summary. I’ve plotted the deadweight vs. fuel energy stored on board for a variety of in-service or under-construction new designs, including some traditional HFO ships. As expected, methanol/ammonia are energy-competitive with traditional deep-ocean vessels, though likely using more space and weight for tankage. There is a striking gap between hydrogen+batteries, and liquid fuels, as expected. What really stands in this plot are the two high-energy battery solutions - COSCO Shipping Green Water 01 and INCAT’s 069 vessel, - with 50 MWh and 40 MWh of batteries onboard, respectively - are pushing well into the Hydrogen territory. The weight penalty (especially on an aluminum catamaran!) for these battery stacks must be enormous. But we really haven’t seen more energy than ~ 4 metric tonnes worth of hydrogen used on a single vessel yet. The complete data set and code are available for this plot, and I will try to provide periodic updates. Unfortunately, most of the dual-fuel ship announcements do not contain enough data to add points to this plot.
