Nauticor, MAN Energy, Wessels Marine in synthetic gas bunker trial
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Nauticor, a Hamburg based LNG supplier, on Thursday (7 November) said it is working with MAN Energy Solutions and Wessels Marine GmbH for the technical showcase of the world’s first use of synthetic natural gas (SNG) as fuel for a vessel.
As part of the project, the 1,036-teu feeder container ship Wes Amelie will replace a share of the LNG, that the vessel uses for a roundtrip, with SNG. The SNG is produced from ‘green hydrogen’, which has been generated by using electricity from renewable sources.
Automobile manufacturer Audi’s Power-to-Gas facility in Werlte near Cloppenburg, Germany, where a liquefaction plant is currently under construction, will provide 20 metric tonnes (mt) of SNG for the project.
The facility is using wind energy to produce the SNG and, therefore, is providing a 100% climate-neutral product.
As soon as the liquefaction plant will be commissioned, which is currently foreseen for Q2 2020, Nauticor will take care of the transport of the SNG from the production facility to the ship including bunkering.
“As a first mover in the use of LNG and SNG as fuel for container vessels we can build upon a solid cooperation with Nauticor, who already supported the commissioning of the retrofitted Wes Amelie two years ago,” said Christian Hoepfner, Managing Owner of Wessels Marine GmbH.
“With this flagship project, we are showing that the already existing LNG supply infrastructure, as well as the LNG technology onboard of seagoing vessels are capable of using CO2 neutral SNG. This takes us a good step closer to climate-neutral shipping.”
Mahinde Abeynaike, CEO of Nauticor, highlighted the importance of this first project of its kind world-wide:
“The project shows the long-term path towards a completely climate-neutral shipping sector. Already today, the use of fossil LNG reduces the CO2 emissions significantly compared to traditional oil-based fuels, and other harmful substances, such as sulphur, nitrogen oxide and particle matters are eliminated almost completely. A vessel equipped for the use of (fossil) LNG is also able to use SNG, which could be generated from 100% climate-neutral sources, without the need to conduct any modifications. Nevertheless, it will take some time until SNG can be produced in quantities and for a price, which are sufficient for the commercial use as fuel for shipping.”
Photo credit: Wessels
Published: 13 November, 2019
