Alfa Laval believes that making these non-carbon fuels economically viable will have a significant effect on the marine industry's efforts to achieve zero-carbon shipping.
By 2050, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions from ships by half. The industry must move to new fuel forms and technologies in order to meet the long-term goal of decarbonization.
The Alfa Laval Test & Training Centre in Aalborg aims to play a key role in researching new types of fuels, adapting and improving equipment for ship engine rooms, and assisting the industry's decarbonization efforts.
Since ships have a 20-year or longer lifespan, zero-emission vessels must join the global fleet by 2030 in order to reach a 50% reduction by 2050.
The world's first carbon-neutral liner vessel is expected to be launched in 2023, and a methanol-fueled vessel will be ready for delivery in two years, according to the company.
The Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP), which began two years ago, partnered methanol project partners Alfa Laval and MAN Energy Solutions with the Danish Technological Institute (DTI), Technical University of Denmark (DTU), and biofuel producer Nordic Green to finance methanol project partners Alfa Laval and MAN Energy Solutions with the Danish Technological Institute (DTI), Technical University of Denmark (DTU), and biofuel producer Nordic Green.
According to Alfa Laval, burning methanol in a non-modified diesel engine would necessitate new engine software, which will be built through engine testing and combustion modeling.
Early experiments at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and later at the Danish Technological Institute (DTI) on smaller engines yielded promising results. This prompted a small-scale methanol experiment at the Alfa Laval Test & Training Centre, which used a single cylinder of the center's 2 MW marine engine.
Maritime Business World