Scaling Decarbonisation Solutions

Abstracts

Wind Propulsion Scalability: Opportunities & Challenges

International Windship Association

Wind-assist are entering the market now and large primary wind vessels will soon be following. The pace of uptake is starting to accelerate, however what will a wind powered fleet look like and what are the challenges and opportunities as this is scaled. This paper will present an analysis of these areas, with primary data taken from the IWSA members survey and industry /policy makers questionnaire results. The paper will also focus on specific segments of fleet as case studies of the impact of incorporating wind and operational adjustments on decarbonisation, including speed, weather routing and the adoption of wind-centered green corridors.

Hull air lubrication: A practical, proven energy saving solution

Silverstream Technologies

The shipping industry is faced with huge challenges to keep up with the increasing global demand for transport. In 2021 alone, over 1,200 newbuild ships were ordered, adding to a global trading fleet of over 60,000 vessels. Simultaneously, governments, regulatory bodies, and society are increasing their calls for substantial reductions to the industry’s environmental footprint. A truly scalable solution to reduce, and eventually eliminate, shipping-related carbon emissions will have to encompass both the newbuild market and existing fleet. Furthermore, such technologies should be flexible to suit the many different ship types, sizes, and operational profiles, while also having the ability to rapidly deploy standardised solutions.

The Silverstream® System, commercialised by Silverstream Technologies, has become the undisputed market leader in air lubrication technology. By generating a microbubble carpet along the hull, the system reduces the ship’s frictional resistance, cutting fuel burn and CO2 emissions by 5-10% net depending on vessel type. Since the Silverstream® System came to market in 2010, Silverstream has demonstrated that effective energy saving technologies can be commercialised and scaled rapidly. Independent verification of the energy savings gives customers such as MSC, Maersk, Grimaldi, Shell, Vale, and Carnival, the confidence to invest further in the fuel-agnostic system across their fleets. Over 90 systems have been ordered so far, and Silverstream is on the path to realise its target of 500 orders by 2025. Through extensive standardisation, continued research, and exponential team growth, Silverstream is helping the shipping industry scale its decarbonisation ambitions with a practical, proven energy saving solution.

The role of Graphene in decarbonization. The Stolt Tankers experience.

Stolt Tankers

Graphene consists of monolayers of carbon atoms bonded in a repeating hexagonal pattern, it is the thinnest known material, and it is very well known for its thermal, conductivity and lack of biota adhesion properties. It was isolated in 2004 at the University of Manchester by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, who went on to win a Nobel prize for their discover. Stolt Tankers is committed with the reduction of environmental impact of our fleet activities and is involved in the transition to GHG reduction in 2030 and 2050 whilst keeping our goals. The negative impact of biofouling adherence to the surfaces in contact with sea water is well known, its impact is being more visible since new IMO regulations will be in place (EEXI, CII). Stolt Tankers has pioneered the application of graphene coating in a propeller of a deep sea going chemical parcel tanker in May 2022; it represents the first time that it has been done aboard a tanker worldwide. The present paper will provide some of the initial findings of the project and the impact evaluated so far. There are plenty of areas where graphene applications could help marine industry in the energy transition is embarked, the paper will present some of the options available.

The GUTTA-VISIR system for operational ferry CO2 savings

Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change

GUTTA-VISIR is a service for operationally providing least-CO2 ferry routes. It combines numerical meteo-oceanographic forecasts with the ship route optimisation model VISIR. The domain of operation is the Adriatic and Northern Ionian Sea. The optimal routes are operationally computed at the CMCC high-performance computing facility and made available through an open web application. Both the CO2 and the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) savings resulting from route optimisation are provided. GUTTA-VISIR has been in continued operation since November 2021 and the data published since were statistically assessed. It is found that the CO2 savings are exponentially distributed, that the largest savings are obtained for routes in the southern part of the basin, and that route optimisation can provide a significant part of the CII savings required by the International Maritime Organization, starting from January 2023.

Low-Carbon Socio-Technical Transition in Container Handling Equipment 

ESMT Berlin

This paper is based on a master thesis and aims to investigate, at a strategic level, what are the drivers in a socio-technical approach to investing in the decarbonization of the container handling equipment in container terminals. Methodology: Data collection was based on 27 online interviews conducted with experienced professionals working for container terminal operators, equipment manufacturers, sub-suppliers of components, port authorities, and utility companies. Findings: Fifty-nine factors in 7 group categories (political, economic, social, technological, legal, environmental, and internal) were identified. A socio-technical structure of the decision-making process was elaborated. The analysis also explored the different leadership styles behind front runner organizations in adopting zero-emission technologies. Research limitations/implications: Because of the limited sample size, the competency model built from the findings should be considered propositional and subject to future testing. The conclusions would be more robust if impact metrics were included. Practical implications: The research offers a better understanding of the drivers to invest in decarbonizing technologies in the context of the container handling equipment industry. Originality/value: Although there are studies discussing the criteria driving the low-carbon transition, they are not extensive and not focused on the proposed industry.

This study identified the factors and highlighted common patterns, providing helpful information to all stakeholders to create road maps to meet the Paris Agreement goals in the container handling industry.

The Silk Alliance: experience and initial lessons from a green shipping corridor cluster

Lloyd’s Register

The shipping industry is in a crucial historical moment where another energy transition is going to shape the industry as we know it today. The drivers and challenges are different from previous energy transitions, however, the long-term system change may happen similarly as it has been observed in the past; starting from niche markets until their expansion merges and substitute with the current regime. Stemming from the Clydebank Declaration at COP26 in November 2021, Green corridors are now most commonly defined as “a shipping route on which the technological, economic, and regulatory feasibility of the operation of zero emissions ships is catalysed through public and private actions.” Green corridors can therefore be seen as niche markets where first movers can create protected spaces that allow the experimentation with the co-evolution of technology, user practices, and regulatory structures for zero emissions ships. There are many industry and government initiatives now forming to develop Green Corridors and one of those is the Silk Alliance. The Silk alliance, established by LR Maritime Decarbonisation Hub, is an initiative of 11 leading cross-supply chain stakeholders to develop a fleet fuel transition strategy that can enable the establishment of a highly scalable green corridor cluster. This paper will briefly describe the underlined methods used e.g. The First mover Framework, and it will focus on the experience gained, and the initial lessons learned during the first phase of this initiative. In particular, it aims to describe the process and the challenges that the members of the Silk alliance have faced to identify scalable solutions for this green corridor cluster.

The role of offshore floating nuclear power plants for the production of Green Electro Fuels for the decarbonization of shipping

Core Power

E-Fuels are considered an important pathway to achieve shipping decarbonization, however for them to replace fossil fuels their production must fulfil the following criteria:

Affordability. For e-Fuels to be used by the shipping industry, they must be affordable, otherwise dirtier but affordable fuels will be used. Cost, capacify factor, availability and dispatchability of the necessary power generation, as well as the logistic infrastructure are all key factors.

Minimal Total Life Cycle Externalities. E-Fuels should not only reduce direct GHG emissions, but also indirect emissions and total life cycle externalities. A well to wake approach is needed to avoid moving emissions and externalities upstream rather than reducing them.

Scalability. The production of e-Fuels needs to scale to the size of the demand. This requires understating the amount of natural resources, raw materials and land needed to scale production.

The modelling of different pathways for the production of e-Fuels indicates that Floating Nuclear Power Plants, FNPP, paired with Floating Processing and Storage Units, FPSU, are the best option to fulfils these criteria. Nuclear has both high capacity factor and low externalities. Advanced Modular Reactors reduce costs thanks to modular factory fabrication and higher power conversion efficiency. Offshore deployment allows efficient and affordable serial construction in shipyard.

CORE POWER envisages coupling a 1.2 GW electric FNPP with an FPSU producing 1 million tons of Ammonia per year. These facilities could be deployed worldwide near major shipping hubs, such as Rotterdam, Houston or Singapore, providing e-Fuel for domestic and green shipping corridors.

Quantitative Risk Assessment of Ammonia-Fueled Vessels

Lloyd’s Register & MMMZCS

As part of the industry’s decarbonisation efforts, a number of ‘green’ fuels are under active consideration, including ammonia. Although shipping has extensive experience of designing, building and operating vessels that operate on hydrocarbon fuels, ammonia’s toxicity presents a new hazard and raises serious safety concerns.

Quantitative risk assessment (QRA) is an analytical tool that has been widely used in the oil & gas, chemical, transport and nuclear sectors. The technique can provide valuable insights into the risk profile of the systems studied, leading to recommendations for safety improvements.

In a recent collaborative study between the Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub and Maersk McKinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, the QRA technique has been applied to three ammonia-fuelled vessel reference designs. This paper provides an outline of the QRA method used and presents examples of the results obtained.

A further phase of the project has now begun, which will be described in the paper. The scope of this includes work on human factors and detailed study of specific design aspects.

In addition to LR and the MMMZCS, the participants in the study were Maersk, NYK, TotalEnergies, MHI and MAN ES whose contribution has been invaluable.

The FASTWATER Demonstrator: Retrofitting a pilot boat to methanol operation

Ghent University

Waterborne transport accounts for about 3% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emission, and it is of no doubt that moving away from its reliance on fossil-based fuels is the way forward to mitigate this. Methanol is gaining traction as a future-proof marine fuel because it can be produced via multiple sustainable routes; it is undemanding to store either on-board or on-shore thanks to its liquid state under ambient conditions; last but not least, its production and applications can be scaled relatively easily since no scarce materials are needed and it is already traded worldwide as an important chemical feedstock. Methanol as a critical piece of the puzzle for net-zero shipping is a vision shared by the FASTWATER consortium, aiming to set a “FAST Track to Clean and Carbon-Neutral WATERborne Transport”. This is a project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 framework programme, which aims at demonstrating the entire value chain for the use of methanol as marine fuel. This is being done by the development of retrofitted marine engines that operate on methanol and demonstration of methanol-powered vessels that fulfill all the certification requirements. This paper will focus on the first successful demo vessel of FASTWATER: the pilot boat that is already in service in Oxelösund, Sweden, which is equipped with a compression-ignited methanol engine and thus its drivability and performance are similar to conventional diesel engines but with significantly less pollutant emissions.

Ports Playbook for Zero-Emission Shipping

Pacific Environment

By joining together and taking bold climate and public health actions, ports can play a leadership role in catalyzing the zero-emission ocean ship transition this decade – and beyond.

Industry leadership is not the only prize to claim. There are considerable economic opportunities and environmental benefits of producing, procuring, and providing zero-emission shipping fuels. The majority of cargo ships run on high-polluting heavy fossil fuels, but we already have the technology to build ships that can run on wind power, renewable energy coupled with batteries, green hydrogen, green ammonia and fuel cells.  To get the transition underway, we need an international network of ports with capacity to support zero-emission ship propulsion. With proper infrastructure in development, shipping companies will be able to order zero-emission vessels at scale, retrofit their current fleets with lifesaving and energy saving technologies, and the domino effect of market transformation can begin. Shipping’s energy transition will drive billions of dollars of economic investment into ports and port communities, including infrastructure development and job creation, while simultaneously improving the health of local communities through reduced air, water and land pollution.

Fundamentally, ports have the power to transform themselves and the ships that call at them. This policy playbook lays out a 9-point plan for ports to catalyze, get ready for, and ultimately benefit from the shipping industry’s transition to zero-emissions.

Energy Efficiency Improvement for Larger Passenger Ship through Hydrodynamic Testing

Croatian Shipbuilding Corporation

Design of fully electric 105 m long passenger ferry  was developed for the purpose of sea traffic between mainland and islands on the east coast of Adriatic Sea. It is first electrically-powered larger passenger ship design, evisaged for this area. Of course, the aim is to apply similar solutions for wider range of ships.

Besides obvious benefits related to  elimination  of the emissions, it was decided by the designer to conduct hydrodynamic optimization in towing tank. The goal was to reduce power consumption by undertaking simple changes and modifications. Extensive tank tests were conducted in Brodarski Institute, Zagreb, Croatia and savings were demonstrated. This papers describes the process of hydrodynamic optimization and also provides guidelines which may serve os orientation for possible impact of specific design interventions.

Within first phase, possible resistance reductions were investigated. Impact of duck tail was researched by testing several variants as well as by adding of stern interceptors additionally. Bow thruster opening shape was also tested. By such approach, hull lines were actually not changed and it is demonstrated how simple changes may lead to improvements.

In second phase, additional anaysis of propulsive efficiency was done through detailed testing of two types of stock propellers. Effect upon propulsive efficiency coefficients related to the hull-propeller interaction was of special interest. In total, gain in range of 5 – 10% was achieved, depending on the speed.

Increasing awareness and fuel efficiency by sharing operational insights with vessel crews

Hapag-Lloyd AG

The reduction of fuel oil consumption and CO2 emissions is an economic as well as environmental target for each shipping company. One, if not the most, crucial element in the process of efficient voyage execution is the crew.  To achieve a higher level of transparency and mutual understanding on operational performance Hapag-Lloyd introduced an automated feedback to vessel crews for all 250 operated ships. This automated crew feedback displays the results of the vessels’ actions and reports. Each reported value is compared to an expected value, which is based on a virtual model of each individual ship. The crew is immediately aware of reporting errors, measurement errors and possible excess consumptions. This paper elaborates the background of the feedback, crew awareness and will analysis the impact on data quality, vessel operation, and efficiency. Further the bottlenecks and obstacles will be analysed which are hindering the crew to gain from such a tool. The feedback to crew module was a development with the innovation project ShippingLab.

Environmental Assessment of Ammonia as a Marine Fuel

Lloyd’s Register

As part of the industry’s decarbonisation efforts, a number of ‘green’ fuels are under active consideration, including ammonia. Although shipping has extensive experience of designing, building and operating vessels that operate on hydrocarbon fuels, ammonia’s toxicity presents a new hazard and raises serious concerns related to safety and environmental impact. The implications of its application and potential risk factors must be well understood to inform future guidelines and ensure safety of both humans and the environment. Currently, there is a lack of literature investigating the impacts of ammonia from an environmental perspective, particularly in a marine environment.

In a recent collaborative study between the Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Ricardo, the potential environmental risks of an ammonia leak from different fuel storage types has been investigated. The main objectives of the study are to understand the potential negative impacts of a fuel leak on biodiversity and ecosystems (particularly water and soil), and to understand the extent of the impact of the fuel on marine life in the case of leakage. The outcomes of the assessment will be compared to conventional fossil fuels, in order to set any environmental risks in context.

Using Smart Marine Coatings to improve the Carbon Intensity Indicator of the Ships

Graphite Innovation and Technologies

International Maritime Organization has projected the carbon intensity reduction by 40% by 2030. The CII is an operational indicator issued to the large ship owners annually to rate the vessel’s CO2 emissions efficiency, as defined by the fuel and operational efficiency of the large vessels (above 5,000 GT). A smooth underwater hull surface can improve a ship’s CII by reducing the ship’s frictional resistance and fossil fuel consumption. Utilization of the low friction marine coatings had previously been shown as an impactful tool towards the GHG emissions reduction and CII betterment. The newly emerging Hard Foul Release (HFR) coatings are an environmentally friendly alternative to the conventional toxic antifouling and Soft FR paints — they eliminate the need for biocides and other biologically detrimental fugitive compounds as anti-fouling promotors. Graphite Innovation and Technologies has recently developed and released the long-lasting HFR topcoat to reduce the hard biofouling and guarantee self-cleanability of the protected assets. The antifouling properties and durability of the novel HFR technology was experimentally proven to possess both the shear-induced biofouling self-release upon the ship’s propulsion, and the capacity to withstand the soft grooming procedures, which allowed the authors to project the maintenance of the undisturbed hull throughout the large vessel’s lifecycle of 5-6 years. Surface properties of the developed HFR topcoat were used to calculate the hydrodynamic drag of the model LNG tanker, which showed the power reduction of the coated vessel by 4.2% per annum vs. silicone foul release, 6.7% per annum vs. conventional self polishing biocide-based antifouling and up to 12.8% per annum vs. a roughly applied or aged icebreaking coating.

Energy Efficiency: Data-driven approaches to hull coating specification and selection

Safinah Group

Hull coatings are recognised as an energy efficiency technology. In order for the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions saving potential of hull coatings to be realised, a ship-specific approach to coating selection and specification is required. Selecting the optimal system, or a combination of systems, for a specific ship is a complex task as there are multiple options to choose from and factors to consider.

Through dry dock project management services, Safinah Group has gained significant insights into the in-service performance of different fouling control technologies and products across multiple coating suppliers. This independent dataset can be used to deliver insights into coating performance across different vessel types and trades.

The presentation will highlight some of the most critical findings on product and scheme performance, trends in product selection, challenges with implementing a ship-specific approach to biofouling management, and insights into how independent product performance data can be used to aid product selection and specifications to optimise vessel performance across the diverse marine fleet.

Alternative Shipping Fuels: Modelling Wind-Farm-to-Wake Emissions

University of Southampton

The need to reduce emissions from shipping is urgent. Potential future fuel candidates include hydrogen and methanol. This study has attempted to draw a fair comparison between these two fuel types by adopting a bottom-up approach to quantify fuel consumption and emissions. A 10,755 nm voyage undertaken by an LNG carrier was used as a case study. Models were developed for a hydrogen fuel cell energy system and a methanol reformer fuel cell energy system. Simulations calculated the fuel requirements and tailpipe emissions for each option. However, as neither hydrogen nor methanol is naturally occurring, the energy required to produce these fuels should also be considered. Three production methods have been modelled: wind turbines with electrolysis; grid supply with electrolysis; steam methane reforming. Using this, the total lifecycle emissions for each fuel option have been calculated and compared to the existing vessel. Typically, this is referred to as well-to-wake emissions, but for green fuels wind-farm-to-wake may be more appropriate.