Refueling Assessment of a Zero-Emission Container Corridor Between China and the United States: Could Hydrogen Replace Fossil Fuels?

In July 2019, an international workshop on zero-emissions for shipping, hosted by the International Council on Clean Transportation, identified hydrogen fuel cells as a promising technology. This study models the energy demand and space for fuel storage needed by container ships in the China-to-United States corridor if using hydrogen. The hydrogen, stored in frozen form, would be used in fuel cells to replace heavy fuel oil which these ships currently use. The paper also identifies ports within the corridor where hydrogen fueling infrastructure could be developed. The authors find that while 99% of the voyages along the corridor in 2015 could be powered by hydrogen with just small changes to fuel capacity or ship operations, such as replacing 5% of cargo space with more hydrogen fuel or adding one more port of call to refuel, a large portion (43%) of the 2015 voyages could be made without such changes. To achieve the minimum goal of the International Maritime Organization’s greenhouse gas strategy, new technologies and fuels for ships are required, and the authors' results show that the bunkering needs of even the largest ships can be met by hydrogen with just minor operational changes.

• Record URL:
  https://theicct.org/publications/zero-emission-container-corridor-hydrogen-2020
• Corporate Authors:

  International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT)

  1500 K Street NW, Suite 650
  Washington, DC  United States  20005
• Authors:
  • Mao, Xiaoli
  • Rutherford, Dan
  • Osipova, Liudmila
  • Comer, Bryan
• Publication Date: 2020-3-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Working Paper
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 13p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bunkering; Containerships; Fuel cells; Fuel storage; Fuel substitution; Hydrogen fuels; Transportation corridors
• Geographic Terms: Pacific Area
• Subject Areas: Energy; Marine Transportation; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01744071
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 2020-05
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 25 2020 9:54AM