In order to cast off its reputation as a “swimming climate offender”, shipping is increasingly turning to alternative fuels.
(Photo: MAN)
Dusseldorf For the first time this Wednesday, a container freighter with synthetic natural gas (SNG), which comes from 100 percent renewable energies, is going on a long journey. With the participation of the First Mayor of Hamburg Peter Tschentscher and the coordinator of the federal government for the maritime economy, Norbert Brackmann, the “Elbblue” in Brunsbüttel picked up 20 tons of the climate-neutral fuel, which should be enough for a 20-hour journey.
The destination of the freighter, which was built in 2011 and which until recently was still called “Wes Amelie”, is St. Petersburg in Russia. On the planned return trip to Rotterdam, the “Elbblue” will again make a refueling stop in Brunsbüttel.
The ship designed for 1,036 standard containers (TEU) belongs to the Elbdeich shipping company from Drochtersen near Stade, but it is operated by the charterer Unifeeder, who uses the comparatively small freighter for feeder services on the North and Baltic Seas.
The climate-neutral fuel is produced on a power-to-gas system from Kiwi AG in Werlte near Cloppenburg. According to its own information, it has been generating a nominal output of 6.3 megawatts using wind power since autumn 2013 and thus up to 1,300 cubic meters of green hydrogen per hour. This is mixed with CO2 in the methanation plant in order to produce synthetic methane. In 2021, a special liquefaction plant for SNG was also put into operation. Kiwi obtains the CO2 required for the process from the exhaust gas flow of the neighboring biomethane plant.
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MAN Energy Solutions had already retrofitted the “Wes Amelie” ship’s engine – also a premiere – to gas propulsion (LNG) in 2017. The machine, which was originally powered by heavy oil, has since been able to use liquid gas as a fuel as an alternative.
LNG ship filling station is still missing
However, the gas has to be delivered to Brunsbüttel by tanker truck. An LNG ship filling station at the Elbe estuary has been planned for years, but threatens to fail due to protests from residents and environmentalists. The “End of the Grounds” action group, a local “Climate Alliance against LNG” and German Environmental Aid demonstrated together against the plans at the end of July.
The Augsburg MAN manager Stefan Eefting opposed this on Wednesday: “Today we are showing that every ship that has been retrofitted for LNG operation can also run on green fuels from Power-to-X.”
The climate-neutral SNG is still three to six times as expensive as conventional LNG liquefied gas, admits MAN Energy Solutions. The reason is that SNG currently comes from rather small test facilities because there are no large industrial facilities. “As soon as the market ramp-up takes place here and industrial production capacities are created, we also expect significant economies of scale and price effects,” said a spokesman.
In order to cast off its reputation as a “swimming climate offender”, shipping is increasingly turning to alternative fuels. A few weeks ago, market leader Maersk ordered the first eight sea container ships that can be operated with carbon-neutral methanol. The mega-freighters with 16,000 TEU are to be built by the South Korean shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI). In June, Hapag-Lloyd also ordered six 23,500 TEU ships with dual-fuel engines that can be converted to gas propulsion.
In addition, the UN-affiliated shipping organization IMO decided a few months ago to reduce CO2 emissions at sea by 40 percent in 2030, measured against the 2008 value. The shipping companies want to cut it in half by 2050. 174 member countries have signed. Shipping accounts for around three percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
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