Climate-neutral shipping at sea: What role plays ammonia in Japan's shipping?
Sea freight has been a major climate polluter so far. Reducing emissions from ocean giants is difficult and expensive. Now Japanese shipowners want to hurry up.
LNG carriers: When climate-damaging ships carry climate-damaging fuels.
(Bild: Shutterstock)
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Japan's major shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) will soon launch a ship of the future: The company's first sailing freighter will be delivered in autumn. For the time being, the model "Wind Challenger" only has a permanently installed sail mast in the bow area, which is supposed to save five to eight percent fuel. But for Toshiaki Tanaka, MOL's Chief Environment and Sustainability Officer, this is only the first step on the way to a decarbonised ocean fleet with which the Japanese want to conquer the seas.
In its "Environmental Vision 2.1", the major shipping company plans to invest 200 billion yen (approx. 1.4 billion euros) in the development of zero-emission ships by 2024. The first emission-neutral ships are to be put into service as early as 2027 or 2028, and emissions per nautical mile travelled are to be reduced by 45 per cent by 2035 and to zero by 2050. And that's just the current plan. "You can expect an 'Environmental Vision 2.2' in the not too distant future," Tanaka already gives a preview.
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Driving emissions out of shipping
Responsible for the rush is the growing competition among major global shipowners for decarbonised ships. The challenge is high, because ships burning heavy oil are responsible for around three percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Global brands like Apple and Amazon in particular are pushing logistics companies to drive emissions out of their ocean liners. The European Maersk Group already has ships in liner service that no longer fire their turbines with heavy oil but with bio-methanol.
The new fuel is considered climate-neutral because it is produced from existing biomass and thus, unlike fossil fuels, does not emit any additional greenhouse gases. MOL now wants to at least catch up with its rival quickly, if not overtake it. "If we want to win the international competition, we have to do it quickly," explains MOL's environmental director Tanaka.
The government is also fuelling the trend. For the planners of the Japan AG hope that the Japanese shipyards will regain market share with new zero-emission ships, which the former market leaders have lost to the cheaper Korean and Chinese competition.
However, the transition will bring about a historic break in the development of technology. Until now, one type of propulsion has always prevailed with technical progress: Sails were replaced by burning coal - until heavy oil followed. In the future, several fuels will exist in parallel. However, it is still uncertain which alternative to fossil fuels will be used to what extent.
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Separation, liquid gas, hydrogen
The useful life of heavy fuel oil could be extended by carbon dioxide separation. The shipbuilding division of the Japanese heavy industry group Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has developed a system that separates carbon dioxide on board. The recovered gas can then be collected in a tank and recycled on land for other industrial processes.
As an initial transitional solution to zero-emission shipping, liquefied petroleum gas is used, which after all emits 25 per cent less carbon dioxide than conventional types of ship propulsion. Later, it could be replaced by synthetic fuels made from carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
Hydrogen is another possibility, but it suffers from the low energy density of the lightest element in the periodic table. Electric ships are only suitable for ferries, yachts and other coastal shipping.
Appearance: Ammonia
The Japanese are therefore relying primarily on an energy storage medium containing hydrogen: ammonia. Ammonia consists of nitrogen and hydrogen. If the hydrogen is produced with renewable energies, ammonia is climate-neutral. Combustion then produces mainly nitrogen and water, but no carbon dioxide.
The advantage over hydrogen is that the energy density is significantly higher. That is why East Asian shipowners and power plant operators in particular are promoting this fuel as an alternative to heavy oil, coal and gas. But ammonia stinks and is also very toxic. Therefore, the International Maritime Organisation must first develop safety standards for the ships of the future so that the business can start properly.
But the first ships are already in the pipeline, thanks to innovations from European engine manufacturers: MAN Energy Solutions from Germany and WinGD in Switzerland are the two manufacturers of marine engines that can use ammonia. And Nihon Shipyard, a joint venture between Japan's largest shipbuilder Imabari and Japan Marine United, plans to launch a 200,000-tonne freighter with a new ammonia system as early as 2026.
The big unknown, however, is how quickly the growing global demand for alternative fuels can be met. Japan is also working on this: the government has been subsidising the development of supply chains for hydrogen and also ammonia for years.
(Bild:Â MOL)
However, the Japanese shipping company MOL is thinking even further into the future. In the lobby of the company's headquarters, the concept for a sailing freighter is behind glass. The "Wind Hunter" has a streamlined hull reminiscent of a submarine. Twelve sail masts are to provide propulsion. Perhaps with the current energy shortages, progress back to sailing will gain popularity sooner than the industry has so far believed.
(jle)
