14 Nov 13 - 18:20
'Motorways of the Sea' prjoject
Image Credit: DNV
The European Union will support with €11.2 million from
the TEN-T Programme a study followed by real life trials to look at the
use of methanol as a possible maritime fuel of the future. The
initiative also contributes to the realisation of the "Motorways of the
Sea" (TEN-T Priority Project 21) concept.
The study, selected for funding under the 2012 TEN-T Multi-Annual Programme, will investigate how methanol could become a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution for the maritime sector.
This latter aspect is especially important as the industry must comply
with the ambitious International Maritime Organisation and EU sulphur
emission reduction targets.
Germany, Sweden and Finland will be taking part in the project, which
involves the installation and testing of methanol on an existing
passenger vessel operating on the short sea route between Gothenburg,
Sweden and Kiel, Germany. In addition to retrofitting the vessel, the
test phase will also create the appropriate port infrastructure for the
supply of methanol for bunkering. A bunker vessel and a storage tank
will be built in both ports.
The study will be monitored by the Trans-European Transport Network
Executive Agency (TEN-T EA) and is set to be completed by December 2015.
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This pilot action will test the performance of methanol on the
existing passenger ferry Stena Germanica operating between the ports of
Gothenburg and Kiel. The Stena Germanica is the world's second largest
Ro-Pax ferry. The running of the Stena Germanica on methanol will allow
the vessel to comply with the new Sulphur Emission Control Area rules
ahead of the 2015 deadline.
The proposed Action will provide the real "live test" to prove the
feasibility of methanol as a future fuel for shipping, deliver the
engine conversion kit which can be further implemented on other ships,
and provide the important and ultimate piloting culmination of many
years of researc
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The project will bring benefits to the Motorways of the Sea (TEN-T Priority Project 21) on the Baltic Sea as well as have positive impacts on the cohesion of the entire Baltic Sea region.
For more information, please consult the project's page
Motorways of the Sea (MoS) builds on the EU's goal of achieving a
clean, safe and efficient transport system by transforming shipping into
a genuine alternative to overcrowded land transport.
Learn more about
the project at
http://tentea.ec.europa.eu/en/ten-t_projects/30_priority_projects/priority_project_21/priority_project_21.htm