THE endeavor to decarbonise shipping not only presents major challenges, but also appears to be highly implausible based on the plans currently afoot, says Norwegian University of Science and Technology professor Jan Emblemsvag.
Speaking at Oslo-based Gard insurance company's Summer Seminar, Prof Emblemsvag suggested nuclear power join the array of alternative fuels to drive the green transition.
While green ammonia is often hailed as a solution for decarbonising shipping and large transporters, he said. there is a notable hurdle to overcome - volume and energy density.
'To illustrate this challenge, let's consider the case of large containerships (over 10,000 TEU). In 2020, 580 such ships traversed the seas, consuming an average of 250-350 tons of heavy fuel oil (HFO) daily,' he said.
This corresponds to an average energy requirement of 3,350 MWh per day, as each ton of HFO possesses a thermal value of 11.2 MWh/tonne.
In comparison, green ammonia has a thermal value of 5.2 MWh/tonne, meaning that a ship of this size would require twice the volume of green ammonia as it does HFO.
Producing green ammonia necessitates electrolysis, which demands around 9-15 MWh per tonne.
Taking the midpoint, we can deduce that replacing 1 TWh of thermal energy in shipping would require 2.2 TWh of electric energy when using green ammonia.
Considering the global annual marine fuel consumption of about 300 million tonnes, this calculation reveals a staggering demand of 7,778 TWh/year in electricity - an amount nearly 2.7 times the total EU electricity production in 2021 (2,888 TWh/year).
'It is evident that fresh and innovative approaches are required to address this complex issue,' said Prof Emblemsvag.
SeaNews Turkey
Speaking at Oslo-based Gard insurance company's Summer Seminar, Prof Emblemsvag suggested nuclear power join the array of alternative fuels to drive the green transition.
While green ammonia is often hailed as a solution for decarbonising shipping and large transporters, he said. there is a notable hurdle to overcome - volume and energy density.
'To illustrate this challenge, let's consider the case of large containerships (over 10,000 TEU). In 2020, 580 such ships traversed the seas, consuming an average of 250-350 tons of heavy fuel oil (HFO) daily,' he said.
This corresponds to an average energy requirement of 3,350 MWh per day, as each ton of HFO possesses a thermal value of 11.2 MWh/tonne.
In comparison, green ammonia has a thermal value of 5.2 MWh/tonne, meaning that a ship of this size would require twice the volume of green ammonia as it does HFO.
Producing green ammonia necessitates electrolysis, which demands around 9-15 MWh per tonne.
Taking the midpoint, we can deduce that replacing 1 TWh of thermal energy in shipping would require 2.2 TWh of electric energy when using green ammonia.
Considering the global annual marine fuel consumption of about 300 million tonnes, this calculation reveals a staggering demand of 7,778 TWh/year in electricity - an amount nearly 2.7 times the total EU electricity production in 2021 (2,888 TWh/year).
'It is evident that fresh and innovative approaches are required to address this complex issue,' said Prof Emblemsvag.
SeaNews Turkey
