Potential and limiting factors in the use of alternative fuels in the European maritime sector

Abstract

The maritime sector is a key asset for the world economy, but its environmental impact represents a major concern. The sector is primarily supplied with Heavy Fuel Oil, which results in high pollutant emissions. The sector has set targets for deacrbonisation, and alternative fuels have been identified as a short-to medium-term option. The paper addresses the complexity related to the activities of the maritime industry, and discusses the possible contribution of alternative fuels. A sector segmentation is proposed to define the consumption of each sub-segment, so to compare it with the current alternative fuel availability at European level. The paper shows that costs and GHG savings are fundamental enablers for the uptake of alternative fuels, but other aspects are also crucial: technical maturity, safety regulation, expertise needed, etc. The demand for alternative fuels has to be supported by an existing, reliable infrastructure, and this is not yet the case for many solutions (i.e. electricity, hydrogen or methanol). Various options are already available for maritime sector, but the future mix of fuels used will depend on technology improvements, availability, costs and the real potential for GHG emissions reduction.

Biofuels for Maritime Transportation: A Spatial, Techno-Economic, and Logistic Analysis in Brazil, Europe, South Africa, and the USA

“…Even though the estimated supply is lower than current demand in most regions, the proximity between potential fuel production areas and ports would incentivize their production. In addition, maritime decarbonization will require a mix of solutions, and other fuel options and technologies that are being extensively discussed, such as hydrogen and ammonia, will also play a role [4,10,15,109]. Thus, diverse strategies to incentivize biobunker production should be considered.…”

“…In 2018, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) pledged to reduce by at least 50% annual GHG emissions from international shipping by 2050 compared to 2008 levels. Together with optimized operations and energy efficiency, alternative low or zero carbon fuels are crucial for maritime transportation [2][3][4].…”

“…The less strict specifications and higher flexibility in terms of fuel supply (than road and aviation sector, for example), represent an opportunity to produce maritime biofuels (hereafter biobunker) [5]. In addition, in view of the sector's well established operational structure and long lifespan of ships, drop-in fuels are the most feasible alternatives, at least in the mid-term [4][5][6].…”

The Role of Research and Innovation in Europe for the Decarbonisation of Waterborne Transport

“…There has been considerable interest in the use of alternative fuels for shipping [20], in particular LNG, hydrogen and ammonia [21]. Nevertheless, maritime transport (and aviation) are not expected to be supplied with a significant amount of biofuels in the near future, and the current set of measures is not perceived as sufficient to support waterborne decarbonisation through biofuels [22].…”

An Investigation on the Effects of Input Parameters on the Dynamic and Electric Consumption of Electric Motorcycles

“…Furthermore, the toxic emission from internal combustion engines such as hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particulate matter (PM) directly affect human health [4,5]. Another issue is energy security; because of concerns regarding fossil fuel supply and undesirable economic impact by fluctuating fuel price, alternative fuel, and new vehicles have become a focus for worldwide researchers [6][7][8]. One promising choice is electric vehicles (EVs), which have significant advantages such as boosting energy efficiency, decreasing toxic emissions, and reducing noise compared with an internal combustion engine [9][10][11].…”