It’s great to note that Maersk sees bio-methane as KEY to decarbonising the shipping sector!
Maersk is looking to use bio-methane, a green resource that is currently limited (but scalable) as a means to mass balance the production of fossil methanol, rather than use it directly as bio-LNG. Is this the most efficient way to utilise bio-methane to decarbonise shipping when, according to numbers from IRENA/Methanol Institute, the conversion efficiency of methanol produced from bio-methane is approximately 65%? By contrast the conversion efficiency of bio-methane to bio-LNG is in the range of 90%-95%.
Fossil methanol is either produced using natural gas (grey) or coal (brown) and has well-to-wake (WtW) emissions that are at least 10% worse than VLSFO. This means - to get to emission parity with grey LNG (23% reduction of WtW emission vs VLSFO inclusive of methane slip), Maersk will need to consume enough bio-methane to abate more than 30% of the WtW emissions of grey methanol. If Maersk were to use the same amount of bio-methane in the form of bio-LNG in a DF engine, they would achieve a WtW emission reduction of 50% vs VLSFO and on a tank-to-wake (TtW) basis, a reduction of about 70% – the current 2050 ambition of the IMO!
This is compounded by the fact that bio-methanol has half the energy density and is significantly more expensive than bio-LNG (10%-20% on an energy equivalent basis), as per recent studies on methanol and methane released by the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping.
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It’s difficult to square this circle. Perhaps the decision to go with bio-methanol is related to concerns about methane slip. If so, diesel engine technologies are already available which virtually eliminate methane slip and which make up more than 50% of the 2-stroke order book according to DNV. Looking forward, the Methane Abatement in Maritime Innovation Initiative (MAMII) promises to eliminate methane slip for those engine technologies where it remains an issue by 2030.
To get more insights and data on the cost of compliance across alternative fuels please read our recent article. If you would like to see analysis for another segment or vessel size, please let us know.
A quick, generic comment to the illustration: The ammonia path will not have a meaningful bio-feedstock route. If you wish to make an intermediate point between fossil and green ammonia, it should be blue... But only when done right (from a well with very low methane emissions).
Retraité
1ySEA-LNG Unfortunatly, Maersk is the first mover but others are following. Should all of them use the same fuel, it will be hardly available for blending with LNG. For sure, the transition require each fuel to be used on the most efficient way. And for sure, using biomethane to produce methanol is one of the worst way of using it, if not the worst. The good point is that poor efficiency often translate into high costs. So let's see how much biomethanol will be incorporated on a regular basis.
Experienced executive with expertise in Marine Fuel, Energy Efficiency, and in Cruise Line Supply & Logistics
1yWell written and on point.