LNG as ship fuel

Where are we and what comes next?

Christos Chryssakis, Business Development Manager

Henning Pewe, Senior Principal Specialist Gas Technology
11 May 2021
The webinar presenters today

Simon Adams
Christos Chryssakis Henning Pewe
Sr. Communications
Business Development Senior Principal Manager, Corp
Manager Specialist Gas Communications
Technology
Webinar host

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 AGENDA

• Market uptake of LNG as fuel – Status and prospects

• Environmental performance and long-term viability
• Technical/operational considerations and technology
selection
• Q&A

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Market uptake of LNG as fuel
– Status and prospects

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Alternative fuel uptake

mid-2020 data

 Less than 1% of the existing fleet is running on alternative fuels

 22% of 2020 orderbook with alternative fuels, ¾ of them LNG-fuelled  16% LNG
 January-April 2021: 18.5% of NB orders with LNG as fuel

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Source: Alternative Fuels Insight: afi.dnvgl.com and DNV GL’s Maritime Forecast to 2050
LNG uptake –excluding LNG Carriers

Updated: May 2021

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Ship types ordering LNG as fuel

Crude oil tankers

Containers

Cruise ships
Bulk carriers

Updated: May 2021

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 LNG fuelled Vessels

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 LNG Bunker Vessels

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LNG bunker vessels – strong capacity growth

Updated: May 2021

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What does it cost?

CapEx:
USD, Tonne MGO equivalent

10-15 MUSD, depending

on vessel type

Payback time:
5-7 years, due to
attractive LNG prices

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Environmental performance
and long term viability

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LNG environmental benefits in a nutshell

GHG reduction
• Up to 23% for large 2-stroke engines
• Up to 14% for 4-stroke engines –with potential to
further improve
• Can be replaced by low carbon LNG in the future
(bio-/e-LNG)

NOx reduction
• 20-80%, depending on engine technology

SOx, Particulate Matter emissions

• >90% reduction

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The IMO has set its ambitions...
...however Financial Institutions, Cargo owners and Charters are increasing their influence...

IMO Ambitions Banks assessments Charterer requirements

Some of the Signatories Some of the Signatories

Who is next?

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 Pending adoption by MEPC
76 in June 2021

Outcome of MEPC 75 (Nov. 2020) - short-term

measures
• Technical (i.e. design): Energy Efficiency for
Existing Ships (EEXI) - EEDI applied to existing
ships

• Operational: Enhanced SEEMP with mandatory

Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) rating scheme (A-
E)

• If adopted at MEPC 76 in June 2021: Entry into

force expected on 1 January 2023

Source: GHG-INF.2/1/1

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The maritime fuel mix will change dramatically
Key assumptions
 Population growth
 Economic growth
 Regulations for
decarbonization

Low Carbon Fuels

 biofuels
 e-fuels
 methanol
 ammonia
 hydrogen

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 What is the best fuel option?
Availability Infrastructure & Maturity of Energy Price Green
Storage technology density credentials

VLSFO/MGO

LNG

LPG

Methanol

Biofuels

Hydrogen

Ammonia

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 Impact of the CII for newbuildings
Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII)

3,50
EXAMPLE: VLCCs

3,00

2,50 Estimate:
AER gCO2/dwt-mile

AER older VLCCs

2,00
Estimate: AER newer VLCCs
1,50
AER advanced design/LNG VLCCs
1,00 IMO

0,50 PP

0,00
2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050
Years

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 Carbon intensity compliance and competitiveness

Fuel oil (standard design, non-compliant)

Fuel oil + ECO speed profile
Alternative fuel + ECO speed profile
Technical upgrades/retrofits

A vessel delivered in 2022 will need upgrades during its lifetime to stay below the IMO ambitions trajectory
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 GHG reduction, including methane slip
2- and 4-stroke engines

-14% -6%
-23% -14%

CO2 equivalent calculated using the 100-year GWP of CH4,

according to the UNFCCC approach Source: Sphera, 2021

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Biofuels: Lifecycle GHG Emissions

GHG emissions
depend on source
of biomass

Advanced biofuels
have lower
emissions than
conventional

Based on data from various sources

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Expected availability of bio-LNG

88 m toe

40 m toe

Source: European Biogas Association

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 Fuel flexibility and bridging technologies - the three
pillars

VOC

Bridging technologies can facilitate the transition

from traditional fuels, via fuels with lower-carbon
footprints, to carbon-neutral fuels

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Technical/operational
considerations and
technology selection

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 Some of the LNG fuel considerations…
…it all boils down to safety, flexibility and cost…

Operational LNG Fuel tanks Engines BOG Handing LNG systems

profile

• Trading area • Size and type • ME (LP / HP) • Holding time • Piping
• Bunkering locations • Maker • Aux. E • BOG handling • Bunkering
• Local and global • Material • SCR / EGR system • N2 capacity
regulatory • Design Pressure • Aux. Boilers • Cost • Cryogenic
compliance protection
• Filling limit • Exh. Gas Boiler
• Primary fuel • Safety and control
• PU foam (BOR) • Safety/Operation
and application systems
• Maintenance
• Cost • Cost

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 Dual fuel engines - Diesel vs Otto Process
Otto Process – Low Pressure
• Low Gas pressure at engine: 15 bar
• IMO NOx TIER III compliant
• No aftertreatment required
• Less complexity
• Some methane slip
• Gas quality should be monitored to avoid knocking
• Low load operation in gas mode
• Low amount of pilot fuel oil
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Diesel Process – High Pressure
• Gas pressure at engine: 300bar
• Require high pressure gas system/compressors
• Very low methane slip
• No knocking problems
• NOx TIER III compliance requires additional equipment
(EGR/SCR)
• Not sensitive to gas quality
• More efficient design
Technologies for methane slip reduction
Combustion chamber design
• Combustion chamber design
• Piston bowl
• Minimize dead volumes
• Optimize the combustion process, including
• Compression ratio
• Ignition control to avoid knocking
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After-treatment
• Methane oxidation catalysts
• Main challenges
• High temperatures required
• Expensive catalyst materials
• Not commercially available yet
• Catalysts for reducing CH4 by up to 70% in 4-stroke engines
are being tested
Main safety principles

Segregation
Double barriers
Protect gas fuel
installation from Protect the ship
external events against leakages

Automatic isolation
Leakage detection
of leakages
Give warning and
Reduce
enable automatic
consequences of a
safety actions
leakage

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Fuel containment system – functional requirements
and safety principles
• Main functional requirements for
containment of LNG as fuel:
• Provide strength to withstand the
defined loads (transfer loads to Primary barrier
supporting hull structure)
• Maintain the cargo in a liquid state LNG Fuel Secondary barrier
(Insulation, boil-off handling/pressure
P0, T
build-up) Insulation
• Design for and protect the hull structure
from low temperature exposure
(Insulation, tightness of containment
system – no leakage)
• Prevent the ingress of water or air into
the cargo containment system including
insulation (tightness of hull boundary)

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LNG tank types

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Important considerations when choosing tank type

• Fuel capacity
• Deep sea shipping will need even bigger
volumes

• Dual fuel or pure gas engine

• For gas only system, redundancy and
segregation all the way from tank to consumer
required and fuel storage shall be divided
between two or more tanks

• Pressure in system
• Boil-off handling system necessary
• Filling limits
• Pressure relief on tank and piping system

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Important considerations
when choosing tank type
• Space available for
• Inspection outside tanks
• Distance to high fire risk spaces provided
by A60 insulation and cofferdam

• Operational profile of ship and bunker

option
• Decision on tank capacity needed

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Operational profile – bunker strategy
Decision Support:
• Evaluate: How long are the legs of the route? What will be
the speed/draft profile?
• Evaluate: How many ports will be called? What is the time
in port?
• Suez Canal waiting time to be considered.
• Evaluate: Will power take-off be used?
• Evaluate: What is the power demand for refrigerated cargo
each leg and in ports?
• Decide: How much spare fuel capacities to be considered?
Fall-back into MGO mode acceptable?
Bunker strategy
For ultra large two-island container vessels there are two basic
bunker strategies:
o bunkering once per round trip, or
o twice.
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Conversion 15.000 TEU vessel

• For the first time, a membrane containment system of GTT

is retrofitted on board of a large container ship for LNG as
fuel
• Hapag Lloyd’s 15,000TEU M/V “Brussels Express” has a
LNG capacity of approx. 6,700m³. The width of the tank is
more than 45M.
• The LNG tank is fitted in one of the existing cargo holds in
front of the engine room.
• The conversion took place at HRDD yard. Hamburg based
consultant TECHNOLOG Services carried out basic design
and project management

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Conversion - Tank speciality

• For the production of the tank, an “exoskeleton”

arrangement is designed that allows a fabrication of the
tank structure and containment system prior the
conversion.
• Special attention:
• Tank testing is only possible with additional, temporary
supports. Exoskeleton structure individually is not of sufficient
strength
• Lifting operation must be carefully investigated and is the
dominant, structural criteria of the exoskeleton arrangement.
• Carefully investigation on welding sequence and simultaneous
welding work in order to control heat deformations and possible
residual stresses to the containment system

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Filling Limits for LNG fuel tanks

Thermal expansion
98% at reference conditions: Filling limit (FL)
ρR
Loading limit at loading Conditions, LL = 98
ρL %

Fuel Tank
Reference Conditions: Loading Conditions
Density (ρ R) of LNG Density (ρ L) of LNG
at the temperature at the temperature when
corresponding to the loading
vapour pressure at
opening of safety
relief valves

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Maintenance of fuel storage condition (boil-off control)

• The IGF Code requires the fuel tank pressure shall be kept below the set pressure of the
pressure relief valves without venting gas to atmosphere –holding time period of 15 days- at
idle condition. Various methods for tank pressure control are indicated:
• Energy consumption by the ship (engines, gas turbines, boilers etc.)
• Re-liquefaction
• Thermal oxidation of vapours (gas combustion unit)
• Pressure accumulation

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 Key takeaways
Market uptake:
• Orders for LNG as fuel increasing fast

Environmental benefits – GHG, NOx, SOx, PM

Technology selection
• LNG can be considered mature, but there are many decisions to be made

Experimentation with all other fuels

• LPG, Methanol, Biofuels, Ammonia, Hydrogen

We are moving towards a multi-fuel future

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DNV Support & Resources

Class Services Maritime Advisory Other Support

LNG, LPG GHG Strategies Energy Transition Outlook 2050
Gas Ready / Fuel Ready Concept/Feasibility AFI - Alternative Fuels Insight
LFL/Methanol/ethanol Technology selection portal
Batteries, Fuel Cells Operational support Fuel Boss
Wind Assisted Propulsion Webinars
Newsletters
www.dnv.com/lng Research publications

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