INTERVIEW
MAN PLOTS H2 VECTORS COURSE AMID CHANGING CONDITIONS On Wednesday 29 October, on the sidelines of the first bunkering of a commercial vessel with renewable synthetic natural gas (SNG), Dr Lauber gave The Motorship an exclusive interview, in which he provided his views on the current state of the energy transition, and MAN Energy Solutions’ role in developing technological solutions. Dr. Lauber began by noting that in order to meet existing IMO targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions, every single newbuilding being delivered today should be capable of operating on LNG. As this is not occurring, solutions will have to be developed that can be applied to the world’s fleet. There is little alternative to retrofits to operate on alternative fuels as a route to lowering emissions from the fleet in order to meet 2050 targets. Given the proportion of vessels that are propelled by MAN engines, this gives MAN ES a special responsibility and opportunity to contribute technical solutions. MAN PrimeServ engineers’ experience in converting vessels to dual-fuel operation has developed since the ElbBlue was converted to dual-fuel operation in 2017. From a technical point of view, Dr. Lauber expressed confidence that the performance of the vessel’s MAN 51/60 DF engine would be unaffected by the switch from LNG to SNG, “as the molecules are the same”. SNG as a potential Power-to-X solution Dr. Lauber began by focusing on the potential offered by SNG, as one of the potential fuels from the Power-to-X (or Power-to-fuel). The importance of SNG technology is that it created a future pathway towards lower GHG emissions for vessels operating on LNG. Shipowners investing in LNG conversions would be able to achieve significant greenhouse gas emission savings compared with HSFO and even compared with conventional LNG, in the future. In other words, the broader significance of the bunkering of ElbBlue was that it demonstrated the technical feasibility of using SNG technology. As and when such a supply chain developed, MAN would be able to provide commercial solutions to customers interested in operating on such fuel. Dr. Lauber added that the focus needed to shift towards the other conditions required to make green shipping a reality, given that they are not yet economically viable. The development of a commercial supply chain for synthetic LNG will only happen if there is a regulatory framework in place to facilitate it. Hydrogen combustion economy Dr. Lauber called for the mass adoption of Climate Neutral fuels, including green hydrogen, and synthetic fuels must play a leading role and be made available in huge quantities to increase the uptake and make price competitive. The Motorship has previously reported on emerging interest in hydrogen as an export commodity, and the emerging hydrogen sector is a key area of focus for the Energiewende
12 | OCTOBER 2021
Credit: The Motorship
Dr Uwe Lauber, ceo of MAN Energy Solutions, discussed the implications of the energy transition and MAN Energy Solutions’ response to the changing market, during a recent interview in Brunsbuttel
and the wider focus on developing European domestic electricity generation from renewable energy sources. Hydrogen as a fuel has been the subject of research for MAN Energy Solutions, and noted that the company had been conducting research into hydrogen combustion in its 4-stroke engines at its Augsburg plant for a number of years. “We are already able to combust hydrogen in our stationary 4-stroke engines at concentrations of up to 25%,” Dr. Lauber noted, adding that “hydrogen combustion at concentrations of close to 100% is also in our R&D roadmap. Pure hydrogen combustion is also not the most difficult task”. The current challenge was managing fluctuating concentrations of hydrogen and methane, between 25% and near-pure hydrogen, but “I fully expect us to develop solutions in the next couple of years”.
8 The ElbBLUE’s MAN 51/60 DF engine
Hydrogen beyond marine Dr. Lauber noted that the use of hydrogen in maritime applications was likely to remain limited, given the operational, infrastructure and supply chain challenges that operating large vessels on hydrogen would pose. “If you look at the energy content of hydrogen, it shows clearly we need a hydrogen carrier, such as ammonia or methanol, or SNG. That is the route through which I expect hydrogen to play a significant role in the marine business.”
For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101
