Methanol: An Emerging Marine Fuel
Methanol Institute -- October 2021
Singapore | Washington | Brussels | Beijing | Delhi
Our History
• The Methanol Institute (MI) was established in 1989
• Three decades later, MI is recognized as the trade association for the global
methanol industry
• We facilitate methanol’s increased adoption from our Singapore headquarters and
regional offices in Washington DC, Brussels, Beijing and Delhi
Beijing
Brussels 2012
2011
Washington, DC
1989
Delhi Singapore
2020 2009
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Members
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Tier 4
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Essential Methanol
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Brown, Grey, Blue and Green
ENVIRONMENT
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Cost of Production
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More & More Renewable Projects
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Methanol Making Headlines
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Why Use Methanol as a Marine Fuel?
What are the benefits of methanol as a marine fuel?
Isn’t methanol toxic? How to handle in case of a fire?
Does methanol reduce carbon emissions?
What do I need to do in case of a spill?
Is there enough methanol available?
How does methanol compare to other alternative fuels?
Is methanol globally available?
How much does methanol cost compared to fuel oil?
Is methanol IMO Tier III compliant? How is methanol made?
Where can I bunker methanol?
What changes do I need to make to my vessel?
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The Simplest of Alcohols
• Simple molecule rich in Formula: CH3OH
hydrogen, with only a lower
single carbon bond emissions Density: 0,792 g.cm-3
Molar mass: 32,04 g mol-1
• Clear and colorless liquid
Appearance: colourless liquid
at room temperature and easy handling
ambient pressure
• Also known as “wood
alcohol,” methanol can
be produced from a wide climate neutral
range of feedstocks
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The Methanol Molecule
• Methanol molecule is the same energy and chemical characteristics no matter
how it is produced
• Completely fungible from grey to blue to green facilitating blending with
reduced carbon intensity as low carbon and net carbon neutral supply grows
• Immediate benefits in reducing SOx, NOx, and PM
• Methanol runs well in existing engines with few modifications and significantly
lower CAPEX when compared with other available alternative fuels
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IMO 2050 GHG “levels of ambition”
https://www.dnvgl.com/expert-story/maritime-impact/How-newbuilds-can-comply-with-IMOs-2030-CO2-reduction-targets.html https://www.dnvgl.com/expert-story/maritime-impact/the-
future-proof-ship.html
• 2023 will be a critical year for IMO in determining their mid-term and long-term strategy on reduction of
GHG emissions
• Energy-efficiency, logistics and speed reductions dominate mid-term tools (2023-2030)
• Fuels play an increasing role over 2030-2050 timeframe in meeting IMO GHG ambitions
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Maritime fuel Mix Sea Change
• DNV-GL 2050 Maritime Forecast assumes that a
mixture of improved utilization and energy
efficiencies, combined with a massive fuel
decarbonization, will see IMO 2050 goal being met
• Shipping’s fuel mix in 2050 will have switched from
being almost entirely oil dominated today, to a mix
dominated by low- and/or net carbon neutral fuels
(60%) and natural gas (30%, mostly LNG)
• Fossil LNG gains a substantial share following the
IMO ambitions. However, as regulations tighten in
2030 or 2040, depending on the decarbonization
pathway, we see bio-LNG, e-LNG, bio-MGO and e-
MGO used as drop-in fuel for existing ships, while
bio-methanol, blue ammonia or e-ammonia are
used for newbuilds and some retrofits
• In the Decarbonization by 2040 scenarios, instead of
https://www.dnvgl.com/expert-story/maritime-impact/Prepare-for-a- a transition via LNG, the fleet shifts directly to
decarbonization-pathway.html carbon-neutral methanol or ammonia, with bio-
MGO and e-MGO as drop-in fuels for existing ships
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What is Potential Methanol Prize?
120 • The ammonia industry recently looked at DNV
112.5 MMT Total Demand by 2050 forecast and assumed ammonia would
100 represent 25% of the maritime fuel mix by 2050,
and if we assume methanol has similar share,
80 we can speculate on the role of conventional
versus green methanol:
MMT
60
• Conventional methanol dominates from
40 2020-2030, with initial volumes of bio-
methanol being blended.
20
• From 2030-2040, conventional methanol
0 begins to give way to increasing volumes of
2020 2023 2030 2040 2050 bio-methanol and e-methanol.
Years
Conventional Bio-Methanol E-Methanol • From 2040 onwards, e-methanol becomes
one of the dominant marine fuels.
Assumption: 25% 2050 demand = 2.25 EJ (per DNV) = 112.5 MMT methanol, see • By 2050, methanol and ammonia each
similar calculation for ammonia, https://www.ammoniaenergy.org/articles/maritime- represent 25% of global bunker fuel, with
fuel-mix-could-be-25-ammonia-by-2050/
methanol demand of 112.5 MMT/annual
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Measuring Maritime Emissions
The Methanol Institute (MI) is calling
on maritime policy-makers to adopt a
‘well-to-wake’ approach in GHG
accounting of fuels to support the
decarbonization of maritime transport.
MI believes an approach that accounts
for GHG emissions of the fuel’s entire
value chain is essential to stimulate
the uptake of renewable fuels that can
drive the maritime industry’s energy
transition.
https://www.methanol.org/marine/
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Maersk: Methanol Game Changer
• 21 Feb 2021: Maersk announces that the world’s first carbon
neutral container vessel by 2023 will operate on dual-fuel
methanol
• Maersk has now ordered 2,100 TEU methanol duel-fueled
feeder vessels from Korean shipyard
• 19 Aug 2021: Maersk secures 10,000 tons green e-methanol
from Reintegrate in Denmark, using biogenic CO2 and solar
https://www.maersk.com/news/articles https://www.maersk.com/news/articl
/2021/02/17/maersk-first-carbon- es/2021/08/18/maersk-secures-
power
neutral-liner-vessel-by-2023 green-e-methanol
• 24 Aug 2021: “Maersk accelerates fleet decarbonization with
“The reason that we have gone for methanol on the 8 large ocean-going vessels to operate on carbon neutral
first one is that it is the most mature from the methanol”
technology perspective; we can get an engine that
can burn it.” Morten Bo Christiansen, head of • More than half of Maersk’s 200 largest customers have carbon
decarbonization at Maersk targets for their supply chains
• 16,000 container (Twenty Foot Equivalent – TEU) vessels
“That means that if we end up finding exactly the • Delivery in 2024, option for 4 additional vessels in 2025
right solution then there will be a big retrofit • $1.4 billion order each vessel $175 million 10-15% more expensive
opportunity for us.” Maersk CEO Soren Skou
speaking during Maersk’s on 10 February earnings
• Each ship will require 35,000-40,000 tons of methanol annually
call https://www.maersk.com/news/articles/2021/08/24/maersk-accelerates-fleet-
decarbonisation
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Methanol Fleet Growing Steadily
2015 2020
and more to come
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On the Water
Engines Mature & Available
100,000 Hours of Operations
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More on the Way
• Denmark: Maersk orders one 2,100 teu methanol dual-fuel container ship, and 8 16,000 teu vessels with
option for 4 additional methanol fueled ships
• Sweden/Switzerland: Proman Stena Bulk – joint venture of shipowner Stena Bulk and Proman Shipping a
subsidiary of methanol producer Proman – to build now six 50,000 dwt tankers with methanol dual-fuel
engines first deliveries 2022
• Netherlands: OCI NV, MAN, Eastern Pacific Shipping first methanol retrofit by 2023, newbuilds and retrofits
• United States: e1 Marine and Ardmore Shipping to deploy methanol-to-hydrogen generator and fuel cell
system for propulsion and APU
• Netherlands: Damen Shipyards delivering first “methatug” to Port of Antwerp in 2022
• Netherlands: Damen Shipyards has developed new concept Offshore Support Vessel (OSV) to operate on
methanol
• Netherlands: Van Oord has ordered self-elevating offshore installation vessel running on methanol
• Ukraine: Danube Shipping Company orders up to 33 river pushers using ABC ‘hybrid’ engines with
methanol capability
• Japan: Sumitomo Heavy wins Approval in Principle from ClassNKK for methanol dual-fuel tanker
• Germany: Shipowner Liberty One has ordered new multipurpose (MPP) ship powered by methanol
• Germany: Shipowner SAL Heavy Lift to install FUELSAVE hydrogen/methanol injection system in 6 vessels
• Germany: Abeking & Rasmussen shipyard designing “green cruise” concept vessel using methanol fuel
cells for hotel load and methanol propulsion engines
• Germany: AIDAnova will employ methanol fuel cells for propulsion under Pa-X-ell2 project
• Germany: Shipyard Fassmer has order from Alfred Wegener Institute to build methanol-powered research
vessel UTHORN
• Germany: Port of Emden to receive new, methanol-powered harbor boat
• Canada: Naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd unveils methanol-fueled Raptor 2400 crew transfer vessel
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Engines Offering Broadening
2015
2021
2021
2016 2021
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Methanol Dual Fuel Standardized Design
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Practical Fuel
PRACTICAL Storage
SOLUTION
Source: Westfal-Larsen
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Fuel Storage Volume Comparison
*Based on marine, on-board storage
Source: Meyer Werft Battery, H2, LOHC and LNH3 may not be suitable for long distances
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Methanol Scalability
Takes 2 years to build new ship, and 3 years to build new methanol plant
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Green Maritime Methanol
• MI part of an industry consortium organized by
TNO to study the use of (green) methanol in
short sea shipping, a spin-off from the Horizon
2020 LeanShips project.
• TNO is an internationally renowned research
institute with a great reputation for objective
analysis.
• The GMM 1.0 study set the stage for a pilot with
actual ships on the water with project partners
(Horizon 2020 or other) under GMM 2.0.
• Focus is on renewable methanol but the
technology, safety guidelines and policy can be
used for conventional methanol too.
https://greenmaritimemethanol.nl/
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TNO: Potential Vessel Segments
• For Green Maritime Methanol program, ~20% of
TNO conducted assessment of market vessels
potential for Dutch/EU market for methanol
as a marine fuel
~80% of
• Heatmap of “methanol-applicability of bunker
shipping segments” demand
• Most shortsea and inland shipping markets
appear feasible in terms of operational
profiles, fuel consumption, and sailing
patterns
• But important to recognize that the ocean-
going vessels make of 20% of vessels and
Source: TNO Report for GMM, Sept 2020
fully 80% of bunker demand
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FASTWATER.eu
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WTRI – China & Singapore
China Currently:
❖ Reviewing final draft
❖ Circulated to MFC for feedback
❖ Planned Jul/Aug for formal release
Targeted outcome is to
o obtain MSA endorsement
o allow CCS to begin to class methanol-fueled vessels
o create bunkering hubs
o begin to develop standardized methanol designed vessels
Singapore MPA Roadmap 2030
Singapore
• Singapore’s Maritime Institute and MPA recently instructed the
Marine Energy Test Bed Department of NTU to engage WTRI
in a similar study as MI engaged WTRI
• Study to commence in September with MI participation
• Study will assess feasibility of methanol fuelled vessels in
China and Singapore in line with MPA’s Roadmap 2030
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IMO IGF Code Methanol Approval
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Methanol Trading Hubs
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Available and Easily Bunkered
E-FUELS
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Methanol Barge Bunkering
❖ 300mt stem successfully delivered May 2021 ❖ Require more such demonstrations at leading ports
❖ Stem placed per LR/MI Methanol Bunkering TR ❖ Will support pilots and general uptake of methanol
❖ Partners included: ❖ Ports of interest:
o Methanex o Antwerp, Rotterdam
o Port of Rotterdam o Zhoushan, Ningbo
o Vopak o Singapore
o NYK o Panama
o TankMatch o Others
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Methanol Pricing
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Main Risks of Methanol as a Fuel 1 of 2
• Flash point 110C
• Class A liquid (flash point Low flash • Oxygenated fuel (50%)
below 280C) point • Wider flammability
• Volatile and flammable limits (6%-36%)
• Low flammability limit
Main risks of Explosive
Toxicity
methanol on ships
• Inhalation, ingestion and • Causes corrosion on
absorption metals such as lead,
• Acidosis, damage to nickel and cast iron
optic nerve or effect on Corrosive • Causes plastic and
central nervous system rubber parts to swell
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Main Risks of Methanol as a Fuel 2 of 2
Risks Countermeasures
• Fire caused by static electricity: Anti-static measures such as grounding of the pipeline between fueling
party and party receiving the fuel
Fire • Use of explosion-prevention equipment
• Vapour detection
• Prohibiting smoking as flame is invisible
• Refueling station should be located on an open deck
Explosion
• Purging and inerting of the pipeline
• Use of qualified and certified refueling equipment, including qualified hose
Fuel leakage • Approved emergency cutoff procedures
• Automatic emergency cutoff system
Toxicity • Personnel protection equipment
• Fuel tank maximum level alarm to immediately close the refueling valve
Overfilling
• Should be equipped with a pair of sensors on the fuel tank
System failure • Manual shutoff valve to shutoff the fuel tank (primary valves)
Power outage • Mechanical closure of refueling valve (ESD)
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Hazard Comparison
Methanol classified as “not more dangerous” than other fuels such as gasoline or diesel – fuels largely
familiar to most people
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Improving Local Air Quality
Emission reduction potential:
SOx PM NOx
source: MAN ES
>99% >95% >80%
source: Stena Line source: Stena Line
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Significant CO2 Reduction Potential
source: https://sustainablepower.application.marin.nl
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Oil Spills Still Happen….
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Pollution in Perspective
Methanol [5] LC 50: Lethal Dose: Fish
15,400 mg/l
• Methanol is a more environmentally-
.
benign fuel in marine environments
• In a waterbody, nearly 200 times Ammonia[6]
0.068 mg/l
more methanol is needed to kill half
the number of fish than marine
heavy fuel oil
[6] ECHA, European Chemical Agency, registration dossier Ammonia
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Spill & Salvage Economic Impact
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Technology Readiness
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Stacking Up Green Competition
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Methanol vs Ammonia
Source: Webber Research and Advisory
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Methanol Marine SWOT
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
AVAILABLE COMPLIANT LIQUID ENERGY DENSITY
NEW BUILD & RETROFIT ALT FUEL UNDERSTANDING
SAFE HANDLING EXPERIENCE LIMITED RM AVAILABILITY
SUSTAINABLE PATHWAYS
ENGINE/INFRA AVAILABILITY FULLY COMPLIANT FUEL,
READILY AVAILABLE,
COMPETITIVE ON BOTH
CAPEX AND OPEX
CRITERIA, WITH A RANGE
OF FUTURE PROOF
PATHWAYS
THREATS OPPORTUNITIES
DELAY OF GHG POLICY EFFICIENT LOGISTICS | DESIGN
CONTINUED LOW OIL PRICE TRADING | PRICE COMPETITIVE
SPACE ON-BOARD FEEDSTOCK FLEXIBILITY | BLEND
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Our Conclusions
Increasing number of vessels Environmentally friendly
More OEM’s offering engines Broad range of sustainable feedstocks
Liquid at atmospheric pressure Cost competitive
Very low emissions Available in most major ports
Future proof
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Our Contacts
Eelco Dekker
Chief EU Representative
[email protected]
Matthias Olafsson
Manager of Government & Zhao Kai
Public Affairs - Europe Chief China Representative
[email protected] [email protected]
Greg Dolan
CEO
[email protected]
Chris Chatterton
Larry Navin COO
Director of Government and Public [email protected]
Affairs Americas / Europe
Operations Tim Chan
[email protected] Assistant Director of Government &
Public Affairs (AP/ME)
London Douglas [email protected]
Social Media and Web Manager
[email protected] Belinda Pun
Executive Manager
[email protected]
Prakriti Sethi
India Representative
[email protected]
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