“Our maritime forecast to 2050 predicts that in the deep-sea sector, ammonia, biodiesel, liquid biogas and electro fuels are potential options. Battery, hybrid, and hydrogen solutions are promising options for the short-sea segment,” reveals Dr Shahrin Osman, Director, Maritime Decarbonisation and Autonomy Centre of Excellence
What are the initiatives being taken by Maritime Decarbonisation and Autonomy Centre of Excellence for the decarbonisation of maritime industry?
The Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Singapore was set up in 2019 with 3 main focus areas. First, as a knowledge-sharing forum where we organize industry roundtables and seminars. The CoE engages with different stakeholders within the maritime industry such as regulators, governmental agencies, universities, asset owners, technology solution providers, shipyards, ports and others to share their knowledge within the green transition themes such as LNG, Marine Battery and Hydrogen/Ammonia as fuel. Such forums have increased the awareness among the stakeholders in Asia-Pacific and facilitates knowledge transfer and creating opportunities for pilot projects or feasibility studies.
Another key initiative the CoE has undertaken is to conduct Joint Industry Projects (JIP) co-funded by DNV, The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and/or industry. An example of such projects is the JIP on the development of baseline document for Remote Survey, Inspections and Audits which was successfully delivered at the end of 2021. Another notable project is the Electrification of Harbourcrafts JIP funded by MPA and Singapore Maritime Institute, where the CoE supports Keppel Offshore & Marine as the consortium lead in the development of the entire marine electrification infrastructure in Singapore.
The third key focus area is to support the industry on tailor-made consultancy projects, primarily in conducting market assessment for alternative fuels, the conduct of techno-commercial feasibility studies, risk and safety studies and technology qualifications for new concepts of technologies.
What are the novel fuel technologies available for ships currently in the process of decarbonisation?
We have seen a significant upsurge in the application of LNG for deep-sea vessels, primarily dual-fuelled for container vessels, and also for tankers and bulk carriers. Within the short-sea and harbourcraft segment, there is an increased interest in maritime battery applications and shore-based charging infrastructure. There are also vessels running on LPG as well as Methanol. This information is available in DNV’s AFI portal.
Furthermore, we have just commenced an Ammonia Bunkering Safety Study in Singapore together with 21 study partners, on behalf of the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD). The intent of this study is to define a robust set of safety guidelines and operational envelopes that will establish the basis of a regulatory sandbox for trials at two local bunkering sites for Ammonia bunkering.
What are the main challenges in the transition to zero carbon – and what solutions have caught your attention?
In our DNV Pathways report, we concluded that 16% of fossil fuel will be left in the energy system in 2050 and that 20% of emissions cuts will have to be in the form of carbon capture and removal. This is because, in our view, it is not feasible to transition to a completely fossil-free energy system by 2050.
The reason is that many developing nations and hard-to-abate sectors will be unable to achieve zero emissions by 2050, which is the critical threshold for the world to stay within 1.5°C of warming. Hydrogen is regarded as the main decarbonization alternative for the hard-to-abate sectors, with biofuels in a supporting role, mainly in aviation. However, hydrogen will only begin to scale from the late 2030s, reaching competitiveness in the 2040s, and meeting only 5% of global energy demand by 2050.
The conclusion, therefore, is that zero is not enough. Hence, those who can, including developed nations, leading companies, and easy-to-electrify sectors, are going to have to go below zero before 2050. This is a key finding of our analysis of what it will take to achieve the ambitions of the Paris Agreement. The most critical constraint are time and tough policy.
Solutions to accelerate decarbonization in the shipping industry such as hull coating, propeller cleaning, heat recovery, have been present for some time. However, the most crucial factor is still consistent investment over time. Shipping is the most energy efficient way of transport globally, but in the past one to two years there has been a shift in mindset, from resistance to progression. Transparency in the performance of individual ships is still lacking. The Poseidon Principles (a framework that shapes lending decisions in the marine sector) is now asking asset owners for the performance of their ships. Singapore is taking a strong position in this area for its marine, onshore and tech sectors. To make sure that we accelerate our transition to a low carbon future together as an industry, it is important for industry players across the value chain and beyond the maritime industry to collaborate.
Hydrogen is grabbing more attention as alternative fuel in the recent times, which fuel will prevail as the best choice in the long run?
Our Maritime Forecast to 2050 predicted that under different regulatory pathways, a variety of fuels all have their own roles to play for decarbonization. In all the pathways, liquefied methane (from both fossil and non-fossil sources) provides a large part of the fuel mix in 2050. The Forecast also suggests that in the deep-sea sector, ammonia, biodiesel, liquid biogas and electro fuels are potential carbon neutral options, with battery, hybrid, and hydrogen solutions being promising options for the short-sea segment.
However, as it stands, we first need to focus our increase on LNG as it is the most reliable fuel we have for kicking off the transition to carbon zero. Our key finding was that installing a dual-fuel LNG engine is a robust choice today enabling future flexibility. Advantages include:
- Cost-effective: a dual-fuel LNG engine can run on cheaper LNG
- Compliant: 20% to 25% reduction in tank-to-wake CO2 emissions
- Flexible: if correctly designed, it can potentially be used for other fuels
Dual-fuel solutions and alternative fuel “ready” solutions especially in the deep-sea segment could ease this transition, by laying the groundwork for a future retrofit. With a mix of technologies such as adaptable storage tanks, onboard systems, and shore-side fuel infrastructure, this could give the industry more options as new fuels and technologies continue to emerge.
Can technology like big data play a vital role in the efforts to decarbonise maritime industry?
Today, big data is used to manage data collected from sources like sensors, control systems, and other types of data acquisition or interfaces where data is made available. Big data aids in efficiency by enabling the integration of operations and assets.
One of the ways DNV has leveraged big data to enable our customers to stay in the lead of the complex regulatory landscape while navigating timelines is through the Compliance Planner. Integrated into our data platform, Veracity, it is a tool that allows customers to easily track the requirements and deadlines of legislations for individual vessels as well as the entire fleet. The tool is easily accessible, automatically updated, giving the users the opportunity to plan and stay in compliance at any given time.
To meet the IMO decarbonization goals, ship owners and operators are inundated with a spate of regulations. DNV therefore introduced a fully digital approach to IMO DCS and EU MRV verification to help vessel operators to streamline emissions monitoring and verification. This removes the need for paper or pdf reports, and for site visits. We provide quality checks on voyage and bunker data automatically at regular intervals, ensuring consistent and better data quality. With the digital tool, it can be used to concurrently benchmark emissions performance to make sure that they are on the right track.
