New shipping fuels need lifecycle emissions analysis

IMO developing well-to-wake methodology amid calls for robust assessment of clean fuels’ green credentials, conference speakers say

New fuels under consideration by the shipping industry as low- or zero-carbon alternatives to diesel bunker should have their green credentials assessed along their entire value chain, from the upstream point of production to downstream end-use, industry experts urged at a conference on Wednesday. Potential future low-carbon and zero-carbon fuels for shipping—from methanol and ammonia, to hydrogen and LNG—have diverse production pathways that entail significant differences in their overall environmental footprint. This makes it important to assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the lifecycle of a fuel, from its production until it is used to fuel a vessel, rather than just the las