Fortnigthly maritime news for the industry and the PortXL community.
Søren Toft vows MSC will be net zero by 2050
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has gone on the record to publicly state for the first time its intention to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Speaking in a keynote address at the main conference held during London International Shipping Week, Søren Toft, MSC’s CEO, made the pledge, joining peers such as Maersk and CMA CGM in setting the 2050 target.
‘Positive results’: European Union’s first floating wind array powers forward
EDP Renewables’ 25MW WindFloat Atlantic (WFA) floating wind project off Portugal has generated 75GWh in its first year of operation, the developer has reported. The three-unit array, built using 8.4MW Vestas turbines mated to semisubmersible platforms supplied by Principle Power, has been producing at full output since mid-2020 at a location some 20km off the coast of Viana do Castelo.
Rainforests of the Sea: Why Kelp Could Help Save the Planet
“The area is probably equivalent to about the size of the Amazon rainforest, if you add it all up,” says Karen Filbee-Dexter, a marine ecologist doing a research fellowship at the University of Western Australia. These are kelp forests – one of Earth’s most beneficial ecosystems.
‘Vast majority’ of green H2 projects may require water desalination, driving up costs
Nearly 85% of the green hydrogen capacity in the global pipeline may need to source its water from desalination, adding substantially to the cost of the H2 produced, according to Rystad Energy. The Norwegian analyst says that the 206GW of announced green hydrogen projects due to be built by 2040 would require a total of 620 million cubic metres (m3) of purified H2O per year, but that almost 85% of this capacity is due to be built in water-stressed regions such as Spain, Chile and Australia.
Rolls-Royce and Sea Machines Partner on Autonomous Ship Control Solutions
Rolls-Royce and Sea Machines Robotics announced they are working together to deliver remote command, autonomous control and intelligent crew support systems to the marine market. As part of this agreement, Rolls-Royce business unit Power Systems and Sea Machines, the developer of remote-vessel command and autonomous control systems, will join forces on the development and sale of fully and semi-autonomous vessel control systems.
Remote-controlled tug to circumnavigate Denmark
Boston-headquartered Sea Machines Robotics is about to send a tugboat to circumnavigate Denmark on a multi-week 1,000 nautical mile remotely commanded commercial voyage, the latest chapter in shipping’s autonomous journey. The Machine Odyssey project will see a tugboat called Nellie Bly depart from Hamburg on September 30, with full onboard vessel control managed by autonomous technology, while operating under the authority of commanding officers located in the US. The voyage will be streamed live.
Hydrogen-fuelled internal combustion engines could be superior to fuel cells
Hydrogen-fuelled internal combustion engines (ICEs) have been regarded as “superior to fuel cells” by Dr. Motohiko Nishimura, Executive Officer of Kawasaki Heavy Industries. With much of the industry turning to hydrogen fuel cells to power mobility applications, hydrogen ICEs have been touted as an exciting new technology that could provide an edge to heavy-duty applications.
