FUEL FOR THOUGHT Methanol for Passenger Ships
Behind its high degree of acceptance by shipowners, lies years of work to prove and improve on the concept of methanol as a marine fuel.
The decision by more and more leading shipping companies to adopt methanol as fuel is a signal. It shows that the industry recognises the need to start its transition to net zero now, first lowering carbon and progressively achieving net carbon neutral operations.
If investment decisions are delayed in the hope that yet unavailable fuels will emerge quickly then the industry will find itself in no better place. Indeed, emissions will likely rise while the transition will be further delayed. Shipowners are recognising that methanol provides them with flexibility in introducing a low-pollution, lower carbon fuel which is closest to a drop-in available in the market. This means lower upfront capex and opex costs compared with the current fuel choices.
Methanol supports compliance towards the IMO’s 2030 carbon emission reduction target and critically provides a pathway towards net carbon neutral operations. The Methanol Institute (MI) believes this will be a phased transition, requiring significant levels of collaboration and application of fuel, technology, infrastructure and people across the supply chain. MI believes we will need to leverage conventional lower carbon marine fuels to meet current and proposed IMO carbon intensity targets and net carbon neutral shipping operations. This includes biofuels, intermediate blue and ultimately renewable green fuels, together with carbon capture technology.
