Shipping decarb needs more port investment: ABL

Spanish Market: Electricity, Fertilizers, Hydrogen, Oil products
14/09/21

Port infrastructure needs to be significantly upgraded if the shipping industry is to achieve its decarbonization goals, according to panelists at an industry event hosted by the AqualisBraemar LOC (ABL) Group today.

Upgrading port infrastructure, more so than providing incentives to smaller shipowners to build environmentally-friendly ships, is the most important step the shipping industry could take now to decarbonize, according to panelist Dean Goves, managing director at Longitude Engineering, which is part of the ABL Group.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is targeting a 50pc cut in CO2 shipping emissions, which currently account for 2-3pc of the world's total, by 2050 from a 2008 baseline, though the US and now UK have called for net-zero emissions in that time frame.

One clear way for a port to help cut shipping emissions is through so-called cold ironing, said panelist George Savvopoulos, a consultant at ABL. Cold ironing is the process by which a a port powers an idling ship via electricity.

Such a practice would allow vessels in port to turn off their diesel-burning engines, which typically use about a fifth of the fuel compared to when ships are in full steam.

"All ports should be developing this type of facility," said Savvopoulos. "This will require investment but in most cases it's just not there."

Ports also need to be able to provide whatever kind of fuels ships end up using in the coming decades, like they do now with petroleum-based bunkers. Such fuels that will likely figure into shipping's energy mix — LNG, LPG, ammonia, hydrogen, biofuels — all require different facilities to be distributed onto ships.

About 12pc of ships on order at shipyards will have the ability to burn alternative fuel.

Ports need to "find the space and supply chains" to be able to accommodate them, Savvopoulos said.

But funds for such bunkering improvements are relatively scarce because of competing priorities among port investors.

Combating rising water levels, a direct impact of climate change, is the more pressing matter for port investors, said panelist David Handley of law firm Watson, Farley and Williams.

By Nicholas Watt

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23/12/24

Japan’s Chugoku restarts Shimane nuclear reactor early

Osaka, 23 December (Argus) — Japanese utility Chugoku Electric Power restarted the 820MW Shimane No.2 nuclear reactor for test operations on 23 December, two days earlier than originally planned. The No.2 reactor at Shimane in west Japan's Shimane prefecture was reconnected to the country's power grids for the first time in nearly 13 years, after the reactor shut down in January 2012 for stricter safety inspections following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown disaster. Chugoku reactivated the Shimane No.2 reactor on 7 December, aiming to resume power generation on 25 December. But the target date for commercial operations remained unchanged on 10 January, despite the earlier than expected restart. The Shimane No.2 reactor will be a vital power source as the sole nuclear fleet in the Chugoku area, to help enhance the resilience of the power supply structure, stabilise retail electricity prices and reduce CO2 emissions, said Japan Atomic Industrial Forum's president Hideki Masui on 23 December. The Shimane No.2 reactor is the second boiling water reactor (BWR) to be restarted after the Fukushima disaster, following the 825MW Onagawa No.2 BWR unit that resumed test generation on 15 November, with normal operations scheduled to restart on 26 December. The BWR is the same type as that involved in the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. The restart of the two BWRs would pave the way for Japan's nuclear restoration, as 15 BWRs — including advanced BWRs — are still closed in the wake of the Fukushima disaster. Japan has restored 14 reactors as of 23 December, including the Shimane and Onagaw reactors, of which 12 are installed with a pressurised water reactor (PWR) design. Nuclear power's share The Japanese government last week set a target of 20pc for nuclear power's share in the country's draft power mix for the April 2040-March 2041 fiscal year, under the triennial review for the country's Strategic Energy Plan (SEP). Tokyo is seeking to restart all existing reactors to achieve the 20pc goal, adding that replacement reactors would also be possible. The draft SEP allows nuclear power operators that had decommissioned reactors to build next-generation reactors at their nuclear sites, not limited to the same site. The previous SEP did not mention building new reactors or replacements. Japan's Federation of Electric Power Companies (FEPC) has applauded this progress, but FEPC chairman Kingo Hayashi noted that it was disappointing the SEP did not mention a nuclear capacity target which the FEPC had requested. It also did not include building new reactors or the expansion of existing nuclear plants, Hayashi added. By Motoko Hasegawa Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Viewpoint: Europe’s refiners eye support from closures

23/12/24

Viewpoint: Europe’s refiners eye support from closures

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Brazil Bndes invests more in Sao Paulo EV fleet

20/12/24

Brazil Bndes invests more in Sao Paulo EV fleet

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Viewpoint: EU at crossroad on H2 rules, competitiveness

20/12/24

Viewpoint: EU at crossroad on H2 rules, competitiveness

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Shell and Prax call off deal on German refinery stake

20/12/24

Shell and Prax call off deal on German refinery stake

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