The International Maritime Organization rule, IMO 2020 established strict regulations on marine vessel sulfur emissions, there are really two common ways to comply with regulation. Either limit the sulfur content in the fuel being used or add scrubbing units to the exhaust system to capture the excess sulfur oxide being expelled from the vessel’s exhaust.
For vessels not using scrubbing units on the exhaust systems, they must utilize a fuel 500ppm (parts per million) sulfur content or less, which is a considerable jump from the old “bunker fuel” previously used, which could contain up to 2000ppm sulfur.
Recently, on the mainland there’s been quite the push for clean energy alternatives, even amidst major current weather conditions that have rendered clean energy helpless. Some examples being dealt with include frozen wind turbines, frozen rivers (water turbines), and snowed covered solar panels stretching from Texas all the way up to the North East United Sates this week. With the IMO 2020 in effect, and the recent clean energy push, is anyone surprised that the latest industry trying to join the trend is the marine industry?
Plans are in place to produce a 3.5MWh propulsion system to power, of all things, an oil tanker! The vessel is estimated to be over 60 meters long and travel at speeds up to 11 knots. Much smaller than a standard tanker, but with the ability to travel at the same speed. Kawasaki Heavy Industries will produce the propulsion system, while Corvus Energy will product the battery pack for each vessel. Worth noting that a battery pack on a ship this large, can help offset power loss due to natural disasters in costal cities across the world.
https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/HotTopics/Pages/Sulphur-2020.aspx
https://electrek.co/2021/02/16/giant-oil-tanker-goes-electric-massive-mwh-battery-pack/
