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Techno-economic analysis of renewable fuels for ships carrying bulk cargo in Europe

Author

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  • Boris Stolz

    (ETH Zürich)

  • Maximilian Held

    (ETH Zürich)

  • Gil Georges

    (ETH Zürich)

  • Konstantinos Boulouchos

    (ETH Zürich)

Abstract

Fossil marine fuels need to be substituted by renewable energy carriers to meet global climate targets. However, a deeper understanding of the technological suitability of carbon-neutral fuels at fleet level is needed. Here we provide a first-order assessment of the techno-economic suitability of hydrogen, ammonia, methane, methanol and diesel—all produced from renewable electricity—to power Europe’s shipping fleet carrying bulk cargo. We compared gravimetric energy density constraints on current operations, the electricity demand for fuel production and total costs of ownership, and found that over 93% of the transport work can be covered with all fuel options when a reduced cargo capacity of less than 3% is allowed for. Compared with Europe’s electricity consumption in 2019, carbon-neutral bulk shipping demands an additional 4–8% thereof. Ammonia emerges as one of the most balanced carbon-free fuels and methanol as one of the most balanced carbonaceous fuels. Using such carbon-neutral fuels could increase the total costs of ownership by a factor of 2–6 in 2030 compared with those of conventional operations.

Suggested Citation

  • Boris Stolz & Maximilian Held & Gil Georges & Konstantinos Boulouchos, 2022. "Techno-economic analysis of renewable fuels for ships carrying bulk cargo in Europe," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 7(2), pages 203-212, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natene:v:7:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1038_s41560-021-00957-9
    DOI: 10.1038/s41560-021-00957-9
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel P. Carlisle & Pamela M. Feetham & Malcolm J. Wright & Damon A. H. Teagle, 2024. "Public response to decarbonisation through alternative shipping fuels," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(8), pages 20737-20756, August.
    2. Jessica Kersey & Natalie D. Popovich & Amol A. Phadke, 2022. "Rapid battery cost declines accelerate the prospects of all-electric interregional container shipping," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 7(7), pages 664-674, July.
    3. Xinyi Zhou & Tie Li & Run Chen & Yijie Wei & Xinran Wang & Ning Wang & Shiyan Li & Min Kuang & Wenming Yang, 2024. "Ammonia marine engine design for enhanced efficiency and reduced greenhouse gas emissions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-14, December.
    4. Kanchiralla, Fayas Malik & Brynolf, Selma & Olsson, Tobias & Ellis, Joanne & Hansson, Julia & Grahn, Maria, 2023. "How do variations in ship operation impact the techno-economic feasibility and environmental performance of fossil-free fuels? A life cycle study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 350(C).
    5. Gu, Xubo & Bai, Hanyu & Cui, Xiaofan & Zhu, Juner & Zhuang, Weichao & Li, Zhaojian & Hu, Xiaosong & Song, Ziyou, 2024. "Challenges and opportunities for second-life batteries: Key technologies and economy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    6. Li Chin Law & Epaminondas Mastorakos & Stephen Evans, 2022. "Estimates of the Decarbonization Potential of Alternative Fuels for Shipping as a Function of Vessel Type, Cargo, and Voyage," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-26, October.
    7. Bogdanov, Dmitrii & Breyer, Christian, 2024. "Role of smart charging of electric vehicles and vehicle-to-grid in integrated renewables-based energy systems on country level," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    8. ElSayed, Mai & Aghahosseini, Arman & Caldera, Upeksha & Breyer, Christian, 2023. "Analysing the techno-economic impact of e-fuels and e-chemicals production for exports and carbon dioxide removal on the energy system of sunbelt countries – Case of Egypt," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 343(C).

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