Biofuel engineer Bart Frehse and David Andersen working on the Kalmar biofuel project. (Photo: Maersk/FIS)
Can a ship sail on algae power? That’s the expectation as a partnership involving the US Navy and a handful of Maersk companies gets underway.
For the Maersk Group’s fleet of more than 1,300 vessels, biofuels pose a host of potential advantages—and real challenges. One project underway right now is exploring the prospects of one especially green fuel.
Maersk Line’s 300-m-long Maersk Kalmar container vessel is sailing its normal route from Bremerhaven, Germany to Pipavav, India, delivering cargo to the usual ports along the way. However, during its one-month-long, 6,500 nmi voyage, Kalmar will be doing something very much out of the ordinary—it will be burning 30 tonnes of fuel derived from algae.
A team of engineers from Maersk Line, Limited, Maersk Maritime Technology and Maersk Line are onboard Maersk Kalmar running the project. They are testing blends of the fuel—which is clear, not green—ranging from 7 per cent algae fuel up to 100 per cent in one of the ship’s auxiliary engines.
That means Maersk Kalmar isn’t actually sailing on algae power, yet; the energy produced will only power the ship’s electronics. But if all goes as planned, the main engine could also eventually run on algae fuel.
“The properties of this fuel are similar to marine gas oil, so if we can successfully run the auxiliary engine on this fuel for long periods of time as we suspect, we will also be able safely use it in the main engine as well,” says Klaus Jørgensen, engineer in Maersk Maritime Technology.
The US Navy, which is the main sponsor of the test and also supplying the 30 tonnes of algae fuel, intends to source 50 per cent of its energy from alternative fuel types by 2020 as a part of its ‘Great Green Fleet’ initiative. For Maersk Line, the testing of biofuels is part of a wider strategy for reducing CO2 emissions.
By 2020, it is Maersk Line’s target to have reduced its CO2 emissions by 25 per cent per container moved, compared to 2007 – a target that will be reached by means of efficiency gains.
“The shipping industry needs to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas intensity in the coming decades. In the short term, we can gain a lot by focusing on improving energy efficiency. In the longer term, say 15 years or more, we would like to see sustainable biofuels become a commercially available low-carbon fuel,” said Jacob Sterling, Head of Climate and Environment for Maersk Line.
For the Maersk Group’s fleet of more than 1,300 vessels, biofuels pose a host of potential advantages—and real challenges. One project underway right now is exploring the prospects of one especially green fuel.
Maersk Line’s 300-m-long Maersk Kalmar container vessel is sailing its normal route from Bremerhaven, Germany to Pipavav, India, delivering cargo to the usual ports along the way. However, during its one-month-long, 6,500 nmi voyage, Kalmar will be doing something very much out of the ordinary—it will be burning 30 tonnes of fuel derived from algae.
A team of engineers from Maersk Line, Limited, Maersk Maritime Technology and Maersk Line are onboard Maersk Kalmar running the project. They are testing blends of the fuel—which is clear, not green—ranging from 7 per cent algae fuel up to 100 per cent in one of the ship’s auxiliary engines.
That means Maersk Kalmar isn’t actually sailing on algae power, yet; the energy produced will only power the ship’s electronics. But if all goes as planned, the main engine could also eventually run on algae fuel.
“The properties of this fuel are similar to marine gas oil, so if we can successfully run the auxiliary engine on this fuel for long periods of time as we suspect, we will also be able safely use it in the main engine as well,” says Klaus Jørgensen, engineer in Maersk Maritime Technology.
The US Navy, which is the main sponsor of the test and also supplying the 30 tonnes of algae fuel, intends to source 50 per cent of its energy from alternative fuel types by 2020 as a part of its ‘Great Green Fleet’ initiative. For Maersk Line, the testing of biofuels is part of a wider strategy for reducing CO2 emissions.
By 2020, it is Maersk Line’s target to have reduced its CO2 emissions by 25 per cent per container moved, compared to 2007 – a target that will be reached by means of efficiency gains.
“The shipping industry needs to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas intensity in the coming decades. In the short term, we can gain a lot by focusing on improving energy efficiency. In the longer term, say 15 years or more, we would like to see sustainable biofuels become a commercially available low-carbon fuel,” said Jacob Sterling, Head of Climate and Environment for Maersk Line.
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