Costa Group, the Italian arm of Carnival Corp, will explore how to accelerate the supply of sustainable methanol in partnership with Swiss methanol producer Proman.
The partnership, which was formalised on Thursday, could pave the way for the retrofitting of existing cruise ships in fleets of Costa Cruises and Aida Cruises to run on methanol fuel, as well as investment in further methanol-fuelled newbuilds.
This could drive further the implementation of methanol as a marine fuel for the cruise industry, the two companies said.
“We are reducing the carbon footprint of our fleet while at port and at sea, investing in advanced environmental technologies and partnering with companies such as Proman who share a passion for sustainable energy transition,” said Dr Christoph Schladoer, Costa’s vice-president of decarbonisation.
“By enabling cruise ships to use methanol as a propulsion fuel, Costa follows the ambition to take the next big step towards GHG neutral operations of our fleet by 2050,” he added.
Both companies, in a joint statement released on Thursday, described methanol as a “leading alternative fuel” to meet greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals due to its easy-to-handle properties, making it attractive for both new builds and for refitting existing ships.
“It [Methanol] is a cleaner-burning fuel which virtually eliminates airborne pollutants such as particulate matter and sulphur oxides and is widely available and increasingly produced via lower-carbon, biogenic or hydrogen-based pathways. When used in fuel cells, methanol has the potential to allow for lifecycle zero emissions in the near future,” they said, noting that as methanol is one of the most widely traded chemical commodities, the infrastructure for ship supply could be adapted from existing infrastructure.
“All forms of methanol, whether natural-gas based, low-carbon or renewable, can be blended regardless of production pathways. It, therefore, enables a reliable transition pathway from today to fully GHG-neutral cruise ships in near future,” they added.
Methanol as a marine fuel has been gaining traction in other areas of shipping, especially in the container sector where several liner companies have ordered methanol duel-fuel ships. A small number of methanol-fuelled tankers have already been placed in service, and a growing number of orders for methanol-ready ships have also been placed across the shipping sectors.
Tim Cornelius, Proman’s managing director of corporate development, said the technology to retrofit a vessel to accept methanol as a fuel is available today.
“Methanol-powered vessels have a proven track record of reducing and eliminating major greenhouse gas emissions, delivering immediate air quality improvements around major ports and shipping lanes,” Cornelius said.
Costa Group controls a fleet of 22 large cruise ships spread evenly across the Costa and Aida brands. Four of the ships are LNG dual-fuel, while the majority are equipped with shore power capabilities to be zero emissions in ports where the technology is available. It has also performed tests on biofuels.
Proman is one of the world’s largest methanol producers and has a joint venture with Stena Bulk that operates four medium-range methanol-fuelled chemical tankers.
Proman has an additional two medium-range methanol-fuelled chemical tankers on order in China.
