RAMPING UP A GEAR

Container shipping giant A.P. Moller – Maersk and US based project developer Carbon Sink have signed a letter of intent covering the development by Carbon Sink of green methanol production facilities in the US. The first such facility will be colocated with the Red River Energy existing bioethanol plant in Rosholt, South Dakota, US, and will have a production capacity of approximately 100,000 tonnes per year. The commercial start is anticipated in 2027 and Maersk says it intends to purchase the full volume produced at the plant, with options for the output of subsequent Carbon Sink facilities at other locations.

This is Maersk’s eighth such agreement in the efforts to accelerate global production of green methanol. “Securing green fuels at scale in this decade is critical in our fleet decarbonisation efforts. We have set a 2040 net zero target for our entire business – but importantly to stay in line with the Paris Agreement, we have also set 2030 targets to ensure meaningful progress in this decade. Partnerships are essential on this journey – and I am very pleased to welcome Carbon Sink on board,” says Berit Hinnemann, Head of Green Fuels Sourcing, A.P. Moller – Maersk.

In January 2023 it was announced that the 2M alliance between Maersk and MSC would end in January 2025, prompting speculation that Maersk has increased the number of methanol-fuelled container ships it has on order.

Carbon Sink uses a commercially available technology to produce green methanol by combining green hydrogen from electrolysis of water, using additional renewable electricity, and biogenic CO2. The CO2 for the first project will be waste CO2 captured from the Red River Energy bioethanol plant, recycling those emissions into green methanol. The companies describe as 'green' fuels or energy sources that have low or very low greenhouse gas emissions on a total life cycle basis.

“We are very pleased to be working with Maersk in support of their mission to decarbonise the shipping sector. Carbon Sink brings a vast wealth of knowledge, experience and partnerships to help them achieve their ambitious corporate goals. Our multi-project development strategy creates a pathway for the supply of significant volumes of green methanol to help meet the demand of Maersk’s growing dual-fuel ship fleet,” says Steve Meyer, CEO of Carbon Sink.

In March 2022, Maersk announced six partnerships with the intent of sourcing at least 730,000 tonnes of green methanol per year by the end of 2025. The partnership entities are CIMC ENRIC, European Energy, Green Technology Bank, Orsted, Proman, and WasteFuel. A seventh partnership with Debo was added in August.

Methanol bunkering in South Korea Classification society Korean Register (KR) and Ulsan Port Authority (UPA) have signed an MOU to support methanol-fuelled ships and “establish the South Korean port as a low-carbon, eco-friendly energy hub”.

KR notes that methanol produces 99% less sulphur oxides (SOx), 80% less nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 25% less greenhouse gases compared to conventional marine fuels. It adds: “A growing number of dual fuel methanol vessels are being ordered by international shipping companies, and in October South Korean shipping company KSS Marine took delivery of the country’s first methanol powered vessel, MV Savonetta Sun, a 50,000 dwt product tanker.”

UPA Vice President Jeong Chang-gyu, Vice President of UPA, said: “UPA is actively working to make eco-friendly, and lowcarbon fuels become more of a universal feature in shipping and port markets. We will support the widespread use of methanol-fuelled ships and methanol bunkering in cooperation with KR using Ulsan port, one of the key energy hubs of North-East Asia.”

The two organisations say they will collaborate on regulatory reform, deregulation of methanol-fuelled ships and methanol bunkering, utilizing independent tank terminals in Ulsan as methanol storage facilities, testing methanol bunkering at Ulsan port and building methanol supply infrastructure in Korean ports.

Hybrid propulsion system for heavy lift vessels

The technology group Wärtsilä is to supply its hybrid propulsion system to four new heavy lift vessels being built at the Wuhu Shipyard in China. The vessels have been contracted by SAL Heavy Lift, a German heavy lift and project cargo specialist and part of the Harren Group, in cooperation with its joint-venture partner, Netherlandsbased Jumbo Shipping. There is an option for an additional two vessels.

Wärtsilä’s hybrid system is intended to minimise the ships’ CO2 emissions and will feature a variable-speed Wärtsilä 32 main engine capable of operating with methanol fuel. The ships are described as the first methanol-fuel capable ships to employ a variable speed main engine.

The hybrid system also includes Energy Storage, a PTO/PTI generator and motor, a multi drive converter, and the Wärtsilä Energy Management System for controlling and optimising the hybrid operations. The Energy Storage system will be based on Lithium-Titanium-Oxide (LTO) batteries, which can handle higher amounts of deep cycles than normal Lithium-Ion based systems. The ESS is expected to significantly reduce the fuel consumption and/or the necessary size of the port's electric shore connection during crane operations, while also providing fuel savings at sea by reducing Engine Load fluctuations in rough seas.