Is LNG Cost-Effective ? : SEA-LNG Coalition’s Study

SEA-LNG study finds that liquefied natural gas (LNG) offers the lowest cost of compliance for the European Union’s FuelEU Maritime regulation

Here’s an article posted in Safety4Sea.

According to the article,

SEA-LNG coalition’s study evaluates LNG and other fuels such as ammonia, hydrogen, and methanol for the maritime industry’s path to net zero.
Almost all currently available alternative fuels, including LNG, grey methanol, and grey ammonia, are produced from natural gas.
FuelEU Maritime is a regulation designed to accelerate the maritime industry’s decarbonization through the adoption of renewable and low-carbon fuels and technologies.

Here are some key features of the FuelEU Maritime regulation:

Scope and Applicability:
- Applies to vessels with a gross tonnage (GT) exceeding 5000, regardless of flag state, when involved in commercial transport of passengers or cargo and calling at EU/EEA ports .
- Includes 100% of energy used by ships at EU/EEA ports, 50% for voyages between EU/EEA ports and non-EU/EEA ports, and 100% for voyages between two EU/EEA ports.
GHG Intensity Requirements:
- Sets an energy usage limit with a reference value of 91.16 grams of CO2 equivalent per megajoule (MJ), which will undergo periodic reductions until 2050.
- Requires the use of well-to-wake (WtW) emission factors to calculate emissions and GHG intensity associated with the fuel used on board.
Compliance and Penalties:
- Ships must achieve a GHG intensity below the required level; otherwise, they will face penalties calculated as the difference between the required and actual GHG intensity, multiplied by the energy use.
- Penalties increase progressively if a ship has a compliance deficit for two or more consecutive reporting periods.
Incentives and Pooling:
- Offers incentives for using Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin (RFNBO) by applying a multiplier of 2 to reward ships that incorporate RFNBO in their GHG intensity calculations.
- Allows for pooling of compliance across a fleet of ships, enabling individual ships to rely on others to achieve a combined level of GHG intensity below the requirement.

Overall, the FuelEU Maritime regulation aims to promote the adoption of renewable and low-carbon fuels in the maritime sector by setting strict GHG intensity requirements and providing incentives for sustainable fuel choices.