Norwegian consortium assesses new low-carbon fuel option
The LNGameChanger project’s primary objective is to design a maritime LNG-fuelled power train combining solid oxide fuel cells and high-efficiency onboard CO2 liquefaction and storage
(Source: HAV Group)
HAV Group has teamed up with coastal cruise line, Havila Voyages, natural gas company Molgas Norway (formerly Gasnor) and research firm, SINTEF, to develop a new technology that aims to capture carbon dioxide from solid oxide fuel cell power trains that use LNG as fuel.
The project, launched last week and unveiled at an event held on board Havila Voyages’ coastal cruise ship, Havila Capella, is to be known as LNGameChanger
The partners intend to design and develop an LNG-fuelled setup that combines solid oxide fuel cells and shipboard carbon dioxide liquefaction and storage systems. They believe that such a system could have a carbon dioxide equivalent intensity within the 2045 and 2050 emission limits.
The parties also aim to establish a user case with a vessel design and a suitable operational profile so that voyage simulations can be undertaken and studied. The user case may be Havila Voyages’ four coastal cruise ships, the companies said. The vessels currently operate using a hybrid setup comprising LNG as fuel and battery packs.
HAV Group CEO, Gunnar Larsen, declared: “The LNGameChanger project aims to create the basis of a new product in form of a low-or zero-emission solution for the maritime industry, strongly positioned for a growing LNG market and infrastructure with superior efficiency to alternative solutions. If this objective is achieved, LNG can become not only a transitional fuel, but a permanently viable option in low-emission maritime transport, alongside for example hydrogen.”
Bent Martini, Havila Voyages’ CEO, commented: “We have clear ambitions to move towards carbon neutrality and eventually zero emissions, and that can be done with our current fleet. This project is of great interest for us as our main power source today is LNG … To be able to meet future requirements and reach the goals for a greener future, we cannot lock ourselves in one direction. We have to investigate the possibilities available to find the best solution, both for the environment and from a business perspective.”
