I would spend $500,000 on renewable power for electrolysers and the other half on electrolysers themselves.
The International Energy Agency says the global electrolyser industry needs to increase production vastly to make the hydrogen for renewable fuels. Without a significant increase in hydrogen and Power-to-X production, shipping faces zero chance of achieving carbon neutrality.
Consider methanol, a viable replacement for fuel oil, but with only about half the energy content per tonne. Global renewable methanol production is about 7.5m tonnes today. To replace fuel oil for shipping, it would need to be at least 500m tonnes, all made by synthesising CO2 and hydrogen.
Zero-carbon marine fuels are a gold mine.
This article is part of a series written by people across shipping in response to this question about how to deploy a hypothetical TradeWinds Sustainable Shipping Fund:
How, where and why would you invest $1bn for the best return in sustainable shipping, as the industry grapples with the need to cut carbon emissions, improve efficiency and keep cargoes moving in a world facing multiple economic and political challenges? The investment will be made now and ideally held for the next seven years to the end of the decade. As an added bonus, give one policy or regulation you would like to implement from 1 January 2023 to benefit shipping?
