Evaluation of Ammonia as a Potential Marine Fuel
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Program
Sustainable energy systems (MPSES), MSc
Publicerad
2019
Författare
Lövdahl, Josefin
Magnusson, Maria
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
Alternative marine fuels are needed to mitigate emissions from the shipping sector in
order to fulfil climate targets set by the International Maritime Organisation. This
study assesses the potential of ammonia as a fuel for shipping compared to other
alternative marine fuels by conducting energy systems modelling by the global energy
transition (GET) model and a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) with
stakeholder preference taken into account. This contributes to an initial assessment
of cost-effective fuel choices in the shipping sector and what marine fuel that is preferred
when assessing economic, environmental, social and technical impacts with
weights of criteria provided by stakeholders. Besides ammonia, the alternative marine
fuels considered in this study are: liquefied natural gas (LNG), hydrogenated
vegetable oil (HVO), methanol (MeOH) and hydrogen (H2). The GET model perform
simulations with constraints of the atmospheric CO2 concentration that must
be fulfilled by year 2100. Two scenarios of different constraints, 450 ppm and 550
ppm CO2, are conducted with results stating that the most cost-effective shipping
fuels at the end of the studied time period are H2 and LNG in combination with fuel
cells (FC) as propulsion technology. Ammonia is cost-effective as a shipping fuel
under both constraints but only to a limited extent. In the MCDA other criteria
than economic performance are introduced and the evaluation is performed by the
Analytic Hierarchy Process. Eleven fuel options are included in the MCDA, combining
different feedstocks, production methods and propulsion technologies; internal
combustion engine (ICE) or fuel cell (FC). There are four ammonia options included
representing if ammonia is produced from either electrolysis based or natural gas
based hydrogen and combined with either ICEs or FCs. The MCDA results in a
ranking where the most preferred fuel option is hydrogen produced by electrolysis
and combined with FC. Ammonia combined with FCs also perform well and end up
in 2nd and 4th place, while the ammonia options with ICEs are found in the bottom
of the ranking in 9th and 11th place. The results of this thesis implies that several
alternative marine fuels show potential, however further assessments are needed to
draw firm conclusions about the potential of ammonia as an alternative marine fuel.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
Ammonia , Alternative Marine Fuels , Shipping sector , Global Energy Transition Model , Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis