Alternative fuels for shipping : Feasibility study in Singapore

Sammanfattning: This thesis work was performed as a collaboration between the University of Cambridge and the Royal Institute of Technology and was initially intended to be performed as a 5-months internship at the CREATE Centre of Singapore. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it could only be done remotely. The aim of the research is to investigate the use of alternative fuels for shipping in Singapore, as maritime power in a global process of decarbonization of this sector. A range of alternative fuels and technologies with different carbon reduction potentials, depending on the primary energy source, have been proposed for ships to reduce emissions. The overall ambition of the project has been to carry out a comprehensive study, based on existing academic and industry literature, on the technical viability of alternative marine fuels tailored to the context of Singapore. The approach of the study has been to assess how a selection of alternative fuels performs on a set of parameters. The alternative fuels included are hydrogen (H2), ammonia (NH3), methanol (MeOH1 ), biodiesel (FAME) and liquefied natural gas (LNG). LNG offers a good compromise between energy consumption for its production and reduction of emissions but will not be able to meet carbon coals in the long term. Bio-MeOH from woody biomass finds large applicability in Singapore given the abundance of feedstock in the South East Asian region and can deliver relevant CO2 emissions reduction. However, as for biodiesel, sustainability and availability concerns might rise questions on its impact as viable long-term solution. E-fuels, under renewable resources production, can deliver significant environmental benefits but at the moment seem to be inaccessible to Singapore considering the amount of clean electricity needed for their production. Results show that the main challenge for Singapore towards the decarbonization of shipping is the procurement of primary resources. Ensuring energy security in a sustainable way in a postpandemic context like South East Asia, where the priority for the coming 30 years will be an unprecedented economic boom, will first and foremost see Singapore engaged in international policies and collaboration in support of emerging economies.