Study details the potential of methanol for shipping

A new study conducted by the Öko-Institut on behalf of NABU, the German environment association, sets out the e-fuel’s benefits and the important contribution it could make to decarbonising the shipping industry.

“Green methanol is a climate and at the same time environmentally friendly fuel. However, a huge volumes of renewable electricity is required to produce the necessary quantity,” said Sönke Diesener, NABU shipping expert.

”But in shipping, unlike other industries, there is no way around e-fuels. To bring e-fuels to market as quickly as possible, the international requirements for limiting the climate impact in shipping must be adapted promptly and price differences compared with fossil fuels,” 

Scaling up

NABU said that commercialisation of the fuel could be realised more quickly with a CO2 price, which must be compensated for as quickly as possible.

Mr Diesener added that the IMO “must not miss this year’s chance to adopt climate neutrality by 2050 and advance an effective pricing of greenhouse gas emissions.”

To be climate neutral, e-methanol must be produced using renewable energy and a sustainable source of CO2. Biomethanol or e-methanol with carbon sourced from biomass are not applicable solutions on a larger scale.

The fuel offers advantages compared to fossil fuels such as diesel, heavy fuel oil and LNG, but also to e-ammonia. In the event of a leak, methanol dissolves very quickly in water. Vapours released into the air are also dispersed quickly.

There are already safety guidelines for methanol in shipping in place, as well as empirical data from ships already operating on the fuel. 

The study said that in summary, the future fuel mix in all segments of shipping will become more diverse depending on the application. With appropriate production, e-methanol could make an important contribution to this, above all from a nature conservation perspective, but also from a climate perspective.

For more on the benefits of methanol as a marine fuel see the latest article in GreenPort