The shipping sector needs an environmentally sound fuel for the future – but which one?
28 April 2018
Tyndall Manchester, alongside researchers at Newcastle University have explored the environmental impacts of alternative fuels in the shipping sector.
The study, published in the Journal of Cleaner Production assesses conventional fuels including heavy fuel oil, diesel and LNG, as well as new emerging fuels including hydrogen (with and without carbon capture and storage) and a range of bio-derived fuels. Using a life cycle assessment approach, this is the first paper that evaluates the upstream and operational local pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions associated with these fuels out to 2050. The analysis demonstrates that no widely available fuel exists currently to deliver on both these motivations and that the conclusions for the industry are contrary to its current direction of travel towards investments in LNG. The research is timely, as the sector now has to deliver on developing a strategy to cut its emissions by at least 50% by 2050. The study has also been included in the Conversation and covered by Manchester Energy.