Container ship reduces emissions by 27% through synthetic fuel
MAN Energy Solutions reports that the 1,036-TEU container ship, ‘ElbBLUE’ – the former ‘Wes Amelie’ – has reduced its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 27% by operating on a blend of climate-neutral, synthetic natural gas (SNG) and conventional liquefied natural gas (LNG), compared to LNG alone, according to the company's release.
Compared with heavy fuel oil (HFO), GHG emission reduction was even as high as 34%. The data has emerged from measurements initially carried out on board the ship in September 2021 when the ElbBLUE became the first container ship worldwide to replace a portion of its bunkered gas fuel (around 50%) with SNG.
Gas operation also drastically reduces other polluting emissions compared to HFO. In the case of the ElbBLUE, nitrogen oxide emissions (NOx) dropped by almost 87%, while emissions of sulphur oxides (SOx) and particulates were almost completely eliminated (~99%). These values were achieved in both the exclusive operation on LNG and on a blend of LNG and SNG.
Measurements were carried out on a voyage between Brunsbüttel, Germany and Rotterdam, the Netherlands with SNG comprising approximately 50% of the bunkered gas at 85% engine load. The ElbBLUE is powered by an MAN 51/60DF four-stroke engine. As a multi-fuel engine, the unit allows operation with either HFO or liquid natural gas (LNG) as fuel. The ship's test-run proved that the latter can be replaced by SNG without engine modification.
Owned by German shipping company, Elbdeich, and operated by charterer, Unifeeder, the 1,036-TEU container ship, ElbBLUE, sails the North and Baltic Seas. It made headlines back in 2017 under its former name, Wes Amelie, when its MAN 8L48/60B main engine was converted to the current MAN 8L51/60DF four-stroke unit, which enables dual-fuel operation with gas. This was the world's first conversion of a container ship to multi-fuel operation with climate-friendly LNG.
In September 2021, the ship reached another milestone on the road to climate-neutral shipping when, in the Elbe port of Brunsbüttel, it became the world's first container ship to bunker climate-neutral synthetic marine fuel – some 20 tons. The liquefied SNG was produced in a power-to-gas plant operated by kiwi AG in Werlte, Germany and generated from 100% renewable energy.
SNG is considered a carbon-neutral fuel as its combustion releases only as much CO2 as captured during its production using power-to-X technology. However, just like LNG, SNG consists largely of methane (CH4) and, during operation, small unburned quantities of the gas can escape – so-called methane slip. Methane is considered a greenhouse gas that, when released unburned into the atmosphere, is 28 times more harmful to the climate than CO2. MAN already offers solutions for methane-slip-free operation in two-stroke engines. For four-stroke engines, the company is working on various solutions to further reduce the escape of methane from the combustion chamber.