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What fuel will ships burn as they move toward net zero? (news.mongabay.com)

submitted 17 hours ago by wolfyvegan@slrpnk.net to c/energy@slrpnk.net

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Spurred largely by pending global regulations, the race is on to develop low- and zero-carbon fuels for ships and scale up their use.

There are “bridge fuels” that could be used during a transition period or in a limited way for the long term, such as biofuels, and then there are options that are more sustainable at scale, such as green methanol and green ammonia.

Experts continue to debate the pros and cons of green methanol and green ammonia, which are generally seen as the best options in the medium to long term.

A net-zero framework for shipping that would drive the adoption of alternative fuels is coming up for a vote in mid-October at a meeting of the International Maritime Organization in London.

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[–] theneverfox@pawb.social 3 points 9 hours ago

The fucking wind. And a few solar panels

Kites are such an obvious answer

[–] ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.net 2 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

According to this very compelling article, we could actually skip transition fuels entirely, and switch over to iron-air electric batteries pretty much immediately. It just seems to be lesser known.

I think it'd be possible to combine iron-air batteries with new sail designs to extend the range even further without any carbon emissions.

[–] compostgoblin@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

In a hypothetical future, I think using “excess” renewable energy during the day to run electrolyzers to make green hydrogen makes sense. I’m not sure how hydrogen stacks up against methanol or ammonia fuels though.

[–] HalfEarthMedic@slrpnk.net 4 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

They don't really talk about using hydrogen directly, just as past of the process of producing other fuels. I assume it boils down to the fact that hydrogen requires all the infrastructure associated with high pressure storage and transport. Methanol/ammonia can be transported as liquid in much the same way as other liquid hydrocarbon fuels, you can carry it in a bucket if you needed to.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 3 points 11 hours ago

I thought there were modern sails that looked promising.