Maran Dry Management, RINA and SDARI have entered into a joint development project (JDP) for a bulk carrier which will capture carbon pre-combustion and produce hydrogen on board & demand.
The CO2 on the dwt 210k vessel will be captured from splitting the liquefied natural gas (LNG) molecules before the combustion in the engine takes place - rather than from exhaust gas emissions.
"This involves lower mass flows, therefore a reduced space required, and scalable installation to progressively keep up with the pace of the emissions reduction requirements up to 2050. The vessel can be built as an ordinary dual-fuel ship, and the extra equipment installed once regulations incentivise the investment," the parties said in a press release.
They furthered, "The solution addresses existing LNG bunkering facilities and requires no onshore hydrogen infrastructure and no need for supply and storage of hydrogen on board. It will also aim to reduce the resistance of the ship to increase overall operational efficiency."
The project will be based on a propulsion arrangement which reduces the running machinery at sea and combines the ship's fuel (LNG) with steam to produce hydrogen and CO2.
"Maran Dry Management is committed to embracing the energy transition and working towards net-zero shipping solutions. Working with RINA and SDARI, this JDP agreement will give us a highly competitive bulk carrier design that will exceed IMO's [International Maritime Organization] current 2050 targets and ultimately get to near-zero emissions. The project demonstrates our strong commitment and active role in the decarbonisation goals set by the IMO, providing a pioneering concept, unique to the bulk carriers segment (newcastlemax) and the shipping industry as a whole, setting a leading example to exceed the current and projected emissions reduction targets, while demonstrating an innovative sustainable path for the future of shipping. The design will allow us to run the vessel on increasing percentages of hydrogen, lowering emissions over time, to meet the increasingly stringent rating thresholds towards 2050," Captain Babis Kouvakas, Managing Director at Maran Dry Management, highlighted.
Paolo Moretti, RINA Services' CEO, also commented, "The concept was conceived to be used on a wide range of vessel sizes. We have already approved its feasibility on a MR [medium-range] tanker, this joint development project will show how a newcastlemax bulk carrier design can benefit from the LNG and hydrogen solution. [...] This is a practical solution and a practical application. It is great that a pioneering company such as Maran Dry Management is taking on this project, which we hope will be the first of many vessels that adopt this technology to meet decarbonisation targets."
Wang Gang Yi, Chief Engineer at SDARI, said, "This is an exciting design that enables shipowners to work towards IMO 2050 with confidence, as it does not rely on the availability of new fuels or additional technological developments to maintain the ship's A rating going forward."
Photo: Angelicoussis Group