Energy major Shell is joining a consortium of companies that will trial the use of LNG-powered fuel cells for deepsea shipping.
Speaking at the start of Capital Link’s two-day Decarbonisation in Shipping Forum, Shell International Trading and Shipping Co senior vice president for shipping and maritime Grahaeme Henderson said the trial will initially use LNG to power the fuel cell.
He said Shell has done modelling around this which shows that a ship using high efficiency LNG fuel cells and adopting energy efficient technologies could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% versus the 2008 baseline.
He said other zero-emission fuels, including hydrogen, could also be tested as they become available and scaled up in an effort to achieve 100% reduction.
Details awaited
Henderson said Shell will be making an announcement on its tie-up shortly.
“LNG is lowest emission fuel available at scale today and into the foreseeable future,” Henderson said. “So we should be widely using LNG and doing the very best we can now.”
But he added that the key to unlocking zero-emission fuels is fuel cell technology.
“Our modelling shows that the fastest way to get to net zero with the lowest total emissions is one that includes the accelerated adoption of LNG, combined with the widespread use of energy-efficient technologies and with fuel cells ready to transition directly to zero-emission fuels at some time in the future.”
Angelicoussis tribute
Henderson was speaking alongside Citi chairman for global shipping logistics & offshore Michael Parker who spoke about the importance of having a clear road map for shipping's decarbonisation.
Parker opened with a tribute to John Angelicoussis, who died in Athens on Saturday.
He described Angelicoussis as a “great man” with a “very keen brain”.
Parker said Angelicoussis was a quiet man and not someone who stood up and led from the front on some of the big issues facing the industry. But the Citi chief said Angelicoussis, who attended the last Global Maritime Forum in Singapore, was beginning to focus on decarbonisation.
“I am very confident that Maria [Angelicoussis] will continue that thinking and that work,” he said.
