Expleo, a UK-based engineering and technology company, has claimed that its new closed-loop fuel solution for global shipping can deliver ‘a 92% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe) and OPEX savings of £1.4 million a year, per vessel’.
In a statement issued on Thursday (14 July), Expleo said its vessel modelling also showed a projected four-year payback on retrofit CAPEX’.
Expleo said that the solution was defined during its feasibility study into clean power propulsion systems, funded through the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Clean Marine Demonstration Competition (CMDC) and is detailed in its new white paper ‘Clean Green Marine – a breakthrough for global shipping.’
Expleo modelled its ‘system-of-systems’ solution on the multi-tasking Bibby Wavemaster 1, a vessel used to service offshore wind farms.
Jonathan Taylor, VP of Marine, Expleo said: ‘Our solution uses solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), technology which, although highly efficient and well suited to use in marine environments, releases a high concentration of CO2.
‘To achieve the desired reduction in GHGe, we partnered SOFC with a novel carbon capture and storage system, enabling a vessel to use its captured CO2 and green hydrogen to synthesise e-methanol.
‘The green hydrogen in the solution can be produced at offshore wind farms, from surplus electrical energy or supplied in-port – ensuring the closed-loop remains as sustainable as possible.’
Taylor claimed that the ‘financial, logistical and environmental benefits of this solution are game-changing’ – because its ‘circular’ nature ‘allows the marine industry to make its own fuel and removes the need for costly processing and transportation’.
Jeff Hoyle, EVP Aero Space and Defence at Expleo, added: ‘This could revolutionise a sizeable portion of the global fleet, helping them to retrofit in line with targets for Net Zero. And, as a replacement for diesel generators, it can easily be incorporated into new build designs offering up to 100% reduction in GHGe.’
Taylor concluded: ‘This has the potential to help the world’s shipowners achieve million-pound savings, heralds the introduction of circular fuel ecosystems and delivers a reduction of 92% in GHGe. It is a “system-of-systems” and offers the world’s shipowners a truly scalable solution.’
Click here to download Expleo's white paper.
