RESEARCH NEWS
Drive to decarbonise commercial shipping
The University of Nottingham in the UK is leading a new project to investigate the potential of ammonia to fuel and decarbonise the long-haul shipping industry , and to boost the UK ’ s powertrain sector . MariNH3 is a £ 5.5m EPSRC-funded project that aims to develop new and disruptive engine technology that will one day cut pollution emitted by today ’ s diesel-powered marine vessels .
The UK Government ’ s Department for Transport has established a new £ 200m body , UK Shore , to decarbonise the marine sector . Meanwhile , in the last year , a UK shipbuilding strategy to make the UK an international leader in green maritime has been promoted .
Professor Alasdair Cairns , principal investigator on the project and director of Nottingham University ’ s Powertrain Research Centre , said : “ There ’ s currently significant interest in green ammonia as a fuel for decarbonised commercial shipping . Green ammonia is a gas easily converted into a liquid in a process that is 100 per-cent renewable and carbon-free , such as using hydrogen from water electrolysis and nitrogen separated from the air .
“ The problem is , when you look at competing energy vectors like batteries or fuel cells , they just don ’ t have the energy density . Ammonia could have diesel-like efficiency and energy density , and it is cheap and easy to store as a liquid fuel . Electric or fuel cell propulsion would work for smaller boats , but it ’ s not really an option in mega-tonne ships that are sailing across oceans in a single voyage . Our work will provide a roadmap of vessel size , types and propulsion types ,” he continued .
In addition to identifying alternatives to fossil fuel power in future fleets , retrofitting existing vessels is a major obstacle . The five-year MariNH3 programme ( which includes partners such as Cummins , Rolls-Royce , MAHLE Powertrain and the Department of Transport Maritime and Coastguard Agency ) hopes to solve this problem by exploring retrofit engine technology solutions that can address issues around engine efficiency , with minimised end energy use and reduced pollution .
A key concern is the current approach adopted by some marine engine manufacturers which involves ammonia dual fuelling , which means replacing some of the marine diesel with ammonia as a ‘ clean fuel supply ’ as a retrofit solution . Typically , up to 40 per cent natural gas ( diesel ) is still used in these engines , which doesn ’ t help with local pollution and limits decarbonisation efforts .
As a group , the MariNH3 consortium firmly believes that a mix of technologies will be required for the most effective decarbonisation of marine as there is no “ silver bullet ” fuel or technology to get to Net Zero . However , green ammonia is set to play a key role in marine ’ s decarbonisation efforts .
In liquid form , ammonia not only has significant cost advantages in terms of fuel storage , it can also be used in existing marine engines . However , it burns roughly five times slower under like-for-like conditions than fossil fuels . Ammonia produces NOx , which is a greenhouse gas and pollutant , and also burns five times slower than fossil fuels . Therefore , marine engines powered by ammonia need ultra-low NOx combustion systems .
Industry partners helping the team to address this challenge include MAHLE Powertrain . MAHLE ’ s ‘ Jet Ignition ’ technology is a fast-burning combustion system currently used in Formula 1 engines , which the team aims to scale and transfer to marine where the fast burning could allow the engine to operate under conditions where NOx can be avoided or reduced .
Another UK company involved is Dolphin-N2 , bringing its Split Cycle engine technology to the programme which the team hopes could serve as a long-term replacement solution to achieve diesel-like efficiency whilst being ultralow NOx . n
Clean energy from steel
Solar roofing panels which are greener , lighter , cheaper and flexible , and which can be printed on the steel used in buildings , are the focus of a new three-year research collaboration between Swansea university and Tata Steel UK . The project is called STRIPS / Tata Steel Industrial Acceleration .
“ The solar roofs would enable buildings to generate , store and release their own secure supply of electricity . This would reduce reliance on fossil fuel energy such as gas , and ease pressure on the National Grid , especially as surplus power generated by a building can be used to charge up electric vehicles ,” explained the university .
The concept is called “ Active Buildings ”. Two “ Active Buildings ” have been in operation successfully on the Swansea University campus for several years . The aim of the new research is to explore the potential of this technology further and speed up the process of turning it into products for industry to manufacture .
The collaboration was launched with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding at the University ’ s Bay campus , where the Active Buildings are located . It is the latest chapter in a longstanding partnership between Swansea University and Tata Steel .
Solar energy is crucial in the shift towards clean , green power . In just one hour , enough solar energy falls on the earth to meet the energy needs of the entire world for a year . Traditional solar cells are manufactured from silicon , which is expensive and requires a lot of energy to produce . But a new type of cell , called a perovskite solar cell ( PSC ) which is highly efficient , is a cheaper and lighter alternative to silicon-based solar panels . PSCs can be made locally using widely available materials and manufacturing them emits less than half the carbon compared to a silicon cell .
Crucially , another advantage of PSCs over silicon is that they are flexible rather than
Signing the agreement are : ( seated on left ) Dr . Debashish Bhattacharjee , Vice President New Materials Business , Tata Steel , and ( seated on right ) Prof . Steve Wilks , Provost , Swansea University , with Tata Steel and Swansea University colleagues .
rigid . This means they can be printed , using techniques such as screen printing , directly onto a material such as coated steel . This opens the door to creating innovative steel products for use in the construction industry that have built-in solar generating technology .
“ Getting this technology into widespread use could hardly be more timely . In the UK and elsewhere , it can reduce reliance on fossil fuel energy such as imported gas . It would also ease the pressure on national electricity networks , for example by enabling us to charge up electric vehicles with surplus energy generated by our homes ,” added the university . n