Alternative Fuels

Rolls-Royce discusses adoption of HVO, methanol alternative bunker fuels for coastal passenger transport segment

Different sectors in the marine industry – deep sea shipping, coastal passenger shipping, yachts and naval – will develop differently when using alternative and climate-friendly fuels, spokesman tells Manifold Times.

Published

2 years ago

July 31, 2023

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A Rolls-Royce spokesperson for the mtu brand, a power solutions provider for power passenger ships, ferries and yachts, recently offered Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times its perspective on the adoption of ammonia, Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), and methanol as marine fuels for the shipping sector.

Ammonia is amongst future bunker fuels being considered, but it seems is there is no operating ammonia-fuelled marine engine yet. Why is it so?

We are watching closely where the use of alternative fuels is going. In Rolls-Royce Power Systems’ markets, it does not currently look like ammonia is going to become a big thing. For operators and owners of vessels that are often used for coastal passenger transport, we see the trend moving towards HVO and methanol, which are easier to handle.

The high toxicity of ammonia is a big threat especially on board of vessels with limited space and limited escape routes. But on the other hand ammonia may offer CO2 free propulsion with a comparably low cost fuel. This makes it attractive enough to be observed.

What is Roll-Royce’s forecast of the future marine fuels mix leading towards IMO 2030 and IMO 2050?

From today’s perspective, the different sectors in the marine industry – deep sea shipping, coastal passenger shipping, yachts and naval – will develop differently when using alternative and climate-friendly fuels.

For large-scale shipping – container ships, for example – ammonia is emerging as an alternative fuel as well as for come cases laughing gas. However, this is not the market in which Rolls-Royce’s business unit Power Systems operates with its mtu brand.

For our mtu marine engines, which often power passenger ships, ferries or yachts, the trend is moving towards two other alternative fuels that are technically easier to handle than ammonia and that enjoy greater acceptance in the passenger shipping industry:

HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil), a second-generation plant-based fuel made from waste materials e.g. from the food industry, has the potential to replace partly fossil diesel. Most mtu engines are already approved for it. HVO is already available today and will soon be available in larger volumes as demand for it increases. With HVO, a CO2 reduction of up to 90 percent can be achieved on balance. This is because during combustion, the CO2 that the plants absorbed during photosynthesis from the air is released into the atmosphere. Some yacht manufacturers already deliver their new yachts with HVO in the tanks.

Methanol can be produced in a climate-friendly way with electrical energy from renewable sources and CO2 which was captured from a sustainable source. On balance, Methanol is virtually climate-neutral. It is easy to store and handle on the ship and the necessary ship infrastructure can be realised at reasonable expense. mtu methanol engines for marine use are currently under development. The most important thing here is that sufficient green methanol is available in the foreseeable future.

In principle, it is not only technical feasibility, supply and demand that govern the market, but regulatory framework conditions such as laws and ordinances as well as government support for the use of such fuels and their production can have a decisive influence. Powertrain manufacturers such as Rolls-Royce must recognise the trends in their markets and provide appropriate technical solutions. They have comparatively little influence on the future fuel mix.

Since methanol and ammonia are acidic fuels in nature, what steps/technologies are the engine manufacturer taking to protect their power plants from these new types of fuels?

Of course for every new fuel the compatibility of materials needs to be checked. Depending on the fuel specification components containing fuel like fuel tanks and fuel lines need to be adapted for its fuel. For methanol this is a solvable task, as there is experience in racing and other types of engines. Methanol compatibility with stainless steel is good, but of course coatings are also reasonable options. Depending on the use, other materials and manufacturing processes are used, for example other coatings, seals or lubricants.

More or less the same applies to ammonia. Ammonia is highly toxic, but it is used since decades, therefore there is experience with materials.

Photo credit: Rolls-Royce
Published: 31 July, 2023

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Methanol

Chimbusco completes bunkering op of China’s first 16,000K TEU methanol DF boxship

“COSCO SHIPPING YANGPU” was supplied approximately 900 metric tonnes of methanol marine fuel by Chimbusco in Shanghai on 11 May.

Published

11 hours ago

May 23, 2025

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Chimbusco completes bunkering of China’s first 16,000K TEU methanol DF boxship

China Marine Bunker (PetroChina) Co Ltd (Chimbusco) completed a bunkering operation of the first domestically manufactured methanol dual-fuel container ship in Shanghai on 11 May, according to COSCO Shipping on Thursday (15 May).

COSCO SHIPPING YANGPU was supplied approximately 900 metric tonnes (mt) of methanol marine fuel by Chimbusco at Pier 1 of COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry.

The operation started on 7 May but was postponed due to unfavourable weather from the Jianghuai Cyclone.

Chimbusco completes bunkering of China’s first 16,000K TEU methanol DF boxship

COSCO Shipping said the operation marked an important achievement in green and low-carbon transformation in shipping, from ship construction and ecological layout of the entire green fuel industry chain of the company.

Manifold Times previously reported the naming ceremony of China’s first 16,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel container ship, COSCO SHIPPING YANGPU in Yangzhou.

The methanol dual-fuel container ship named was the first in a series of vessels from COSCO Shipping Holdings, constructed by COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry Yangzhou.

Photo credit: Cosco Shipping
Published: 23 May, 2025

LNG Bunkering

Shell wraps up its first LNG bunkering operation for TUI Cruises in Barcelona

Milestone was achieved by Shell’s LNG bunker barge “Haugesund Knutsen” supplying the “Mein Schiff Relax” cruise ship at Port of Barcelona, says Dexter Belmar of Shell.

Published

11 hours ago

May 23, 2025

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Shell wraps up its first LNG bunkering operation for TUI Cruises in Barcelona

Energy giant Shell recently conducted its first LNG bunkering operation for TUI Cruises in Barcelona, according to Dexter Belmar, General Manager and Head of Global Downstream LNG on Thursday (22 May).

He said the milestone was achieved by Shell’s LNG bunker barge Haugesund Knutsen supplying the Mein Schiff Relax cruise ship.

“Barcelona, one of Europe and the Mediterranean’s leading cruise ports, is also a key LNG bunkering location for Shell as we help more cruise ships transition to lower-emission fuels,” he said in a social media post.

“A huge thank you to Royal Caribbean Group for their trust, and to Knutsen and Port of Barcelona for their collaboration in making this bunkering safe and efficient.”

Shell wraps up its first LNG bunkering operation for TUI Cruises in Barcelona

Belmar said LNG is leading the way as the preferred alternative bunker fuel in the cruise industry.

“At Shell, we’re proud to support LNG fuelling needs at 26 locations worldwide, including major cruise ports like Bahamas, Barcelona, Canaveral, Everglades, Jamaica, Miami, Singapore, Southampton, and Tenerife,” he added.

Photo credit: Shell
Published: 23 May, 2025

LNG Bunkering

IGU report: Global LNG bunkering fleet grows to 56 operational vessels by 2024

LNG bunkering fleet is concentrated in Europe with the highest capacity of operational bunkering vessels, followed by Asia/Asia Pacific and North America, according to 2025 World LNG report by IGU.

Published

11 hours ago

May 23, 2025

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IGU report: Global LNG bunkering fleet grows to 56 operational vessels by 2024

The global operational LNG bunkering and bunkering-capable small-scale vessel fleet reached 56 units at the end of December 2024 with further support from expanding infrastructure and regulatory drivers such as the IMO’s ban of heavy fuel oil in Arctic shipping and the EU’s FuelEU Maritime regulation.

This was nine more vessels than in 2023, with a total added capacity of 82,900 cubic metres (m3).

This was one of the major highlights in the 2025 World LNG report by the International Gas Union (ICU), which was launched at the 29th World Gas Conference (WGC2025) in Beijing on Thursday (22 May).

IGU report: Global LNG bunkering fleet grows to 56 operational vessels by 2024

The LNG bunkering fleet is concentrated in Europe with the highest capacity of operational bunkering vessels. This is followed by Asia/Asia Pacific and then North America, both of which have seen rapid expansions in the past five years.

As of the end of 2024, Europe has the highest bunkering capacity, with a total of 190,757 cm across 25 vessels currently in operation within the region.

Asia/Asia Pacific has the second-highest bunkering capacity, with a total of 179,700 m3 across 17 vessels in operation. From that, China currently has five operational LNG bunkering vessels while South Korea currently provides STS bunkering services with four bunkering vessels. Singapore currently has three bunkering vessels in operation.

North America continued its progress toward becoming a significant region in the LNG bunkering market in 2024, reaching a total capacity of 86,400 m3 across 10 operational vessels by year-end.

The report noted: “2024 was a significant year for LNG bunkering. Bunker users were quick to capture the reductions in both fuel costs and carbon emissions from using LNG, taking advantage of lower LNG prices relative to other marine fuels in 2024. Lower prices and an emerging LNG-fuelled fleet were catalysts in the large uptake in LNG bunker volumes.”

The Port of Singapore, which is the largest bunkering port in the world, recorded 463,900 tonnes of LNG bunkered in 2024, almost four times the 110,900 tonnes in 2023. The Port of Rotterdam, the second-largest bunkering port in the world, also recorded a 52% increase in bunkered LNG, from 620,000 cm in 2023 to 941,366 cm in 2024.”

IGU also said the newcomer in STS LNG bunkering is the Middle East with the LNG bunkering vessel Green Zeebrugge.

“The ship moved at the end of 2024 to Dubai and has performed the first ever LNG bunkering in the Middle East. This area is identified as a potential new LNG bunkering hub with Oman, the UAE, and Qatar as the main bunkering locations.”

Note: The ‘2025 World LNG Report’ can be downloaded here.

Photo credit: International Gas Union
Published: 23 May, 2025