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At the same time , many market sectors can be slow to embrace new , cleaner technology , particularly those relying on costly heavy equipment as a primary business asset . The massive change ahead represents genuine transformation for an industry that took 200 years to evolve from wooden to steel boats . While hydrogen energy is proving highly suitable as a clean fuel for the shipping industry , what will it really take for ship operators to embrace hydrogen as an energy source for cleaner propulsion ? And how do shipbuilders weigh the risk of adopting new technologies today versus the risk of waiting to adopt even greener fuel solutions ?
All these considerations indicate that the conversion to cleaner fuels is about much more than simply the fuel itself . Solutions must offer long-term strategic value to shipbuilders and maritime professionals , providing a truly viable path to mandated decarbonization . Hydrogen-on-demand aligns well – today and for the future – tapping into existing methanol infrastructure to remove obstacles , reduce complexity , generate immediate value , and create a flexible path to accelerating decarbonization efforts .
Hydrogen-on-demand : convenient and available
Stored hydrogen requires high pressure or cryogenics , complexities that stand between the global shipping industry and its wholehearted embrace of hydrogen as fuel . But hydrogen-on-demand relies on methanol as a hydrogen carrier feedstock . This approach solves the inherent complexities , cost , and logistics of onboard hydrogen as a clean source of ship energy . Methanolto-hydrogen , or M2H2 , is deployable today and addresses the difficulties of hydrogen transportation and storage , whether deployed onboard vessels or portside .
Methanol is a low-toxicity substance common to the marine industry in portside and on-vessel applications . This existing methanol infrastructure removes risk and costs while increasing convenience and fostering overall comfort with change . It ’ s versatile , familiar to marine professionals , and well established , with wide accessibility in seaports worldwide and approval from the International Maritime Organization ( IMO ) for bunkering and various marine uses . In addition to its capacity to be refined into highly pure hydrogen , its handling requirements are straightforward and akin to other fuel types . Methanol is biodegradable , dissolves in water , and stays in a liquid state at normal temperatures without high-pressure tanks or cryogenics .
In an M2H2 system , high-purity hydrogen is generated on demand through the methanol-reforming process . There is no need for dangerous , big-footprint storage of highly pressurized hydrogen or complex cryogenic liquid hydrogen storage . And when consumed by a fuel cell , its only additional output is pure water .
Portside potential
Methanol-to-hydrogen systems can also readily cater to portside applications for both general port facilities and docked ships . For instance , M2H2 container systems can be easily relocated to provide power for various port operations . Similar to the port ’ s existing diesel systems , these containerized systems can be deployed to deliver power whenever necessary . What sets them apart is their exceptional cleanliness and quiet operation , eliminating the noise and pollution typically associated with diesel systems . The containerized system , along with its reformers and interconnected PEM fuel cells , can be conveniently moved based on the docking location of larger cargo vessels .
When a ship enters a port , the operators usually prefer to connect to shore power instead of running the ship ’ s diesel systems . However , port facilities and their power grids often face significant weather-related disruptions , forcing incoming ships to rely on their onboard engines
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