The Shape of Things to Come
The world is changing rapidly around us. One thing that has significantly changed over the last two years is that the environment is much more at the forefront of people's conscience. The recent price spikes in oil and gas prices have also meant that alternative sources of fuel are now much more visible than they were. Discussions on methanol, ammonia and hydrogen are now firmly established. All it has taken is a pandemic and a massive price spike to really get people thinking about future fuels. As a result, engine manufacturers are busy developing the necessary propulsion systems to enable these new fuels to be utilized as bunkers. Some vessel owners and charterers are keen to try new propulsion designs to reduce their overall impact on the environment, as well as reduce their future exposure when EEXI and CII are implemented. These new designed not only include alternative fuels, but utilise hybrid systems with the main propulsion systems and battery packs used in parallel. In addition, fuel cells are also increasingly being investigated; these could use a variety of alternative fuels, although to harness the required power to move a VLCC is still way off in the future.
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The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Xinde Marine News.
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