{"id":16582,"date":"2023-08-17T15:50:57","date_gmt":"2023-08-17T12:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hho-bulgaria.com\/?post_type=green-hydrogen-news&p=16582"},"modified":"2023-08-17T15:50:57","modified_gmt":"2023-08-17T12:50:57","slug":"full-clean-ahead-can-shipping-finally-steer-away-from-fossil-fuels","status":"publish","type":"green-hydrogen-news","link":"https:\/\/hho-bulgaria.com\/en\/green-hydrogen-news\/full-clean-ahead-can-shipping-finally-steer-away-from-fossil-fuels\/","title":{"rendered":"Full clean ahead: can shipping finally steer away from fossil fuels?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Full clean ahead: can shipping finally steer away from fossil fuels?<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Electric ships, hydrogen, \u2018air lubrication\u2019 and even good old wind power are reducing emissions, but campaigners say true change will \u2018take guts<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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T<\/span><\/span>he passenger ferry MV Sea Change is due this month to make its maiden voyage across San Francisco Bay. But it won\u2019t be the usual hour-long chug for the 75 passengers travelling north to Vallejo, California. Guests might notice how quiet the engine is \u2013 and they could even drink the emissions it releases.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because MV Sea Change is the first commercial ferry to be powered not by the usual diesel engine but entirely from hydrogen. Its only emission is pure water.<\/p>\n

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The project is a pilot run as part of the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority\u2019s mission to\u00a0phase out<\/a>\u00a0diesel-powered ferries by 2035. \u201cWe want to be a catalyst for the evolution of this technology,\u201d says Seamus Murphy, the authority\u2019s executive director.<\/p>\n

Low-carbon shipping is making waves across the maritime sector. In May, for example, Future Proof Shipping launched a hydrogen-powered inland container ship that moves cargo between the Netherlands and Belgium several times a week. The company estimates this will cut 2,000 tonnes of CO2<\/sub>\u00a0annually that diesel engines would have emitted.<\/p>\n

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Zack Taylor, vice-president of engineering at Gloyer-Taylor Laboratories, with the hydrogen storage tank now under development in the US.<\/span>\u00a0Photograph: GTL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The potential benefits of cleaner shipping to the oceans and the climate emergency are stark. Shipping accounts for\u00a0nearly 3% of total global greenhouse gas emissions<\/a>, according to a study published in 2020 by the International Maritime Organization. Conventional engines also emit particulates that pollute the air and water, while shipping noise\u00a0disrupts marine wildlife<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 inducing\u00a0chronic stress<\/a>\u00a0in North Atlantic right whales, for example.<\/p>\n

Shipping is already trying to cut fuel consumption, though in very modest ways.\u00a0More than 20 commercial cargo ships<\/a>\u00a0use wind power to reduce fuel use. But this is a minuscule proportion of the\u00a0<\/strong>more than 50,000 merchant ships<\/a>\u00a0sailing the world\u2019s seas, and weather conditions are too unpredictable and inconsistent to make transport fully wind propelled.<\/p>\n

Some diesel ships use\u00a0air lubrication<\/a>\u00a0to reduce friction between the sea and the hull by creating a carpet of tiny bubbles over the flat base of the vessel, resulting in a moderate reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n

Hydrogen is one of the most promising alternative fuels\u00a0<\/strong>for decarbonising shipping because it is lightweight and vehicles can travel a long way without refuelling, according to Jacob Armstrong, sustainable shipping manager at the Brussels-based thinktank Transport and Environment.<\/p>\n

Nearly half (43%) of all voyages made along the longest shipping corridor between China and the US\u00a0could be powered by hydrogen<\/a>\u00a0without adding any fuel capacity or extra port calls, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation. What\u2019s more, 99% of voyages on the route could be hydrogen-fuelled with some adaptations \u2013 either by replacing 5% of cargo space where possible with more hydrogen fuel, or by adding one port call to refuel en route.<\/p>\n

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Norwegian cruise operator Hurtigruten has cut fuel consumption by powering its ships using hybrid electric-diesel technology.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That said, hydrogen is no magic bullet. While there may be no harmful emissions, its production is energy intensive, as it is currently\u00a0sourced largely from fossil fuels<\/a>. There are cleaner options, such as \u201cgreen\u201d hydrogen \u2013 extracted from water by electrolysis (or running electricity from renewable sources through water molecules to split them) \u2013 but this is not yet widely used.<\/p>\n

Moreover, storing hydrogen is a challenge. High-pressure containers are needed to store it as a gas; if in liquid form, hydrogen requires extremely low (cryogenic) temperatures because its boiling point is -252.8C (-423F). A lightweight yet sturdy tank is\u00a0being designed in the US<\/a>\u00a0by hydrogen fuel cell developer HyPoint and tankmaker Gloyer-Taylor Laboratories for use in aviation and shipping. The\u00a0Norwegian firm Marine Service Noord<\/a>\u00a0also designs double-walled pipes that can be used in pressurised hydrogen-storage systems.<\/p>\n