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Revolution needed in marine propulsion to meet IMO's 50% greenhouse gas reduction target

To meet the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) ambitious target of a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is going to require a revolution in the propulsion systems used by the shipping industry.

Marcus Hand, Editor

September 4, 2018

2 Min Read
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Speaking at the SMM 2018 opening press conference on Tuesday, Frank Starke, ceo of Caterpillar Motoren said: “We are trying to work across the industry to develop new technologies because this is not going to be an evolution there are going to be some revolutionary steps if we're going to get that 50%.

“We really think there has to be a maritime energy transition. We have to move from where we are to where we need to be tomorrow.”

A similar view was expressed by DNV GL ceo Remi Eriksen, at the classification society's own press conference at SMM on Tuesday. “While ambitious we believe this is not unachievable. Yes it will require ships to use alternative fuels and also emerging new propulsion technologies. Some shipping companies are already leading the way,” he said.

Seatrade Maritime News is reporting live from SMM 2018

Starke said that purely working on efficiency of the standard propulsion system in shipping would only bring incremental gains of say 1% at a time which would cover the 20% growth in shipping in terms of cutting GHG emissions, but not to bring it to the 50% figure.

Instead he believes the industry will need to invent and adopt “power to x” solutions where renewable energy is converted to low carbon alternatives.

“Beyond that we will have to work on fuels, we're going to have to do something power to x, meaning using renewable power and transforming that into power that can be used on ships, be that hydrogen, natural gas or liquids,” he said. These solutions could deliver GHG cuts of 80% or more.

“You have excess electricity from hydropower in Norway and you use that basically to get hydrogen and that would enable you to get rid of greenhouse gas,” Starke explained.

ClassNK chairman Koichi Fujiwara echoed these comments at press briefing on Wednesday. He said that totally new ideas such a carbon neutral fuels and biofuels would be need to meet the target of a 50% reduction in GHG from shipping by 2050.

About the Author

Marcus Hand

Editor

Marcus Hand is the editor of Seatrade Maritime News and a dedicated maritime journalist with over two decades of experience covering the shipping industry in Asia.

Marcus is also an experienced industry commentator and has chaired many conferences and round tables. Before joining Seatrade at the beginning of 2010, Marcus worked for the shipping industry journal Lloyd's List for a decade and before that the Singapore Business Times covering shipping and aviation.

In November 2022, Marcus was announced as a member of the Board of Advisors to the Singapore Journal of Maritime Talent and Technology (SJMTT) to help bring together thought leadership around the key areas of talent and technology.

Marcus is the founder of the Seatrade Maritime Podcast that delivers commentary, opinions and conversations on shipping's most important topics.

Conferences & Webinars

Marcus Hand regularly moderates at international maritime events. Below you’ll find a list of selected past conferences and webinars.

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