Hydrogen the next maritime fuel

With stricter emission rules and more public focus on maritime transport, reducing emissions in a cost efficient way has become a necessity for maritime transport and marine operations. Current emissions from the sector accounts for 10–15% of global anthropogenic Sulphur oxide and Nitrogen oxide emissions, and around 3% of global carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions (Smith et al., 2014). These emissions are assumed to increase by 150 – 250 % by 2050 if no actions are taken, i.e. business as usual (BAU) scenarios with a tripling of world trade. Fulfilling anticipated climate requirements could require the sector to reduce emissions per freight unit by a factor of five or six. The focus of this paper is therefor to investigate the environmental impact of traditional fuels and then compare them with the pros and cons of introducing Hydrogen as a marine fuel.

Keywords: Shipping and the Environment, Greenhouse gases, Abatement cost and options, Marine fuels, Low carbon fuels, Hydrogen.