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Abstract
Global maritime transportation is responsible for around 3% of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and significant proportions of SOx, NOx, and PM emissions. Considering the predicted growth in shipping volumes to 2050, greenhouse gas emissions from ships must be cut by 75–85% per ton-mile to meet Paris Agreement goals. This study reviews the potential of a range of alternative fuels for decarbonisation in maritime. A systematic literature review and information synthesis method was applied to evaluate fuel characteristics, production pathways, utilization technologies, energy efficiency, lifecycle environmental performance, economic viability, and current applicable policies. Alternative fuels are essential to decarbonisation in international shipping. However, findings suggest there is no single route to deliver the required greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Emissions reductions vary widely depending on the production pathways of the fuel. Alternative fuels utilising a carbon-intensive production pathway will not provide decarbonisation, instead shifting emissions elsewhere in the supply chain. Ultimately, a system-wide perspective to creating an effective policy framework is required in order to promote the adoption of alternative propulsion technologies.
Highlights
Max BergmanMaritime transportation plays a vital role in global economic development, representing 80–90% of international trade
Electricity, and ammonia show a noticeable advantage in the TTW Global warming potential (GWP) results; greenhouse gas emissions are eliminated when consuming these alternative fuels with FC or in pure battery-powered systems
This review considers the price of hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol from the perspective of two different production pathways—conventional (SMR from fossil-based natural gas or coal) and renewable
Summary
Maritime transportation plays a vital role in global economic development, representing 80–90% of international trade. The 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21) set a target to pursue efforts to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 ◦ C Reflecting this focus, the IMO announced during the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) in April 2018 that member state delegates had agreed on a target to cut the shipping sector’s overall CO2 output by 50% by. Considering the predicted growth in shipping volumes up to 2050, GHG emissions from ships must be cut by 75–85% per ton-mile to meet the Paris Agreement goals This transition to low carbon will be multifaceted. In the medium (2023–2030) to long term (beyond 2030), the IMO is planning to introduce for the shipping industry both a new GHG reduction mechanism to be included among the operational indicators and an implementation programme to encourage the use of low-carbon alternative fuels [10]. An overview of the potential alternative marine fuel systems is presented in Figure 2, which illustrates the production pathway of each alternative fuel, from primary energy sources/feedstocks, production methods, distribution, and bunkering pathways to its consumption onboard ship
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